Embodied Empathy; Virtual Reality and Experiencing Geriatrics

The Embodied Empathy pilot study proposes to use VR technology to create original narratives of real life patients from their own perspectives for medical students to embody. Instead of using an animated avatar, researchers will use live-action first-person 220 degree video to capture these vignettes. In "Virtual Body Swap: A New Feasible Tool to Be Explored in Health and Education," Oliveria discusses the impact of using an actual person as an avatar as opposed to animation. "Many possibilities stem from the concept of body swapping. The relationship between individuals and their own bodies has implications on their ego and own personality. Feeling to be in another person's skin and controlling another body's movement, can facilitate the development of empathy, playing with one's ego and emotions. Such experiments could, for example, be used as a theme for discussion and behavioral changes related to issues such as racism, altruism, inclusion and anorexia, among others" (Oliveria, Bertrand, Lesur, Palomo, Demarzo, and Cebolla, 2016). Although the study will not focus on a true one-to-one body swap, as in BeAnotherLab's The Machine To Be Another, the assertion of a real person as an avatar is essential to our project.