ME in VR: Will mere exposure to virtual reality content impact political ideology?
Format
Oral Presentation
Faculty Mentor Name
Dari Sylvester Tran
Faculty Mentor Department
Political Science
Abstract/Artist Statement
The following research project aimed at discerning if the mere exposure effect through virtual reality could impact political ideology or a targeted political attitude. To begin, this research project builds on the theory of the mere exposure effect as a means to do initial research on the possible political implications that virtual reality may have on a world that has become more intertwined with technology. Additionally, paying mind to political science, this long-term research project is focused on how this technology—VR—can be utilized by any yielder of this new technology to propagate a virtual idea for the sake of obtaining, maintaining, or, even, limiting power. Despite a limited sample size, the project was able to discern that depending on the specific virtual reality content, the particular experimental treatment, there was a change in a participant’s ideology or attitude towards a targeted idea. Although this preliminary research is a pilot study, it provides a foundation for future political science research to be developed from this model. Thereby, this project serves as political science inquiry for the sake of thinking on behalf of our collective future. Finally, one question remains, how will virtual reality’s potential be utilized by future scientists and societies?
Location
Yosemite Learning Lab, William Knox Holt Memorial Library and Learning Center
Start Date
30-4-2022 3:20 PM
End Date
30-4-2022 3:39 PM
ME in VR: Will mere exposure to virtual reality content impact political ideology?
Yosemite Learning Lab, William Knox Holt Memorial Library and Learning Center
The following research project aimed at discerning if the mere exposure effect through virtual reality could impact political ideology or a targeted political attitude. To begin, this research project builds on the theory of the mere exposure effect as a means to do initial research on the possible political implications that virtual reality may have on a world that has become more intertwined with technology. Additionally, paying mind to political science, this long-term research project is focused on how this technology—VR—can be utilized by any yielder of this new technology to propagate a virtual idea for the sake of obtaining, maintaining, or, even, limiting power. Despite a limited sample size, the project was able to discern that depending on the specific virtual reality content, the particular experimental treatment, there was a change in a participant’s ideology or attitude towards a targeted idea. Although this preliminary research is a pilot study, it provides a foundation for future political science research to be developed from this model. Thereby, this project serves as political science inquiry for the sake of thinking on behalf of our collective future. Finally, one question remains, how will virtual reality’s potential be utilized by future scientists and societies?