Effects Of Virtual Reality (VR) On The Intention To Donate Money And Time: The Role Of Empathy, Guilt, Responsibility And Social Exclusion

Virtual Reality (VR) technology has reached the mainstream market and is in the early stages of being used for charitable purposes. The aim of this research is to investigate and explain the effects of VR on empathy, guilt, responsibility, and donation of time and money in the social marketing context. Supported by the media richness theory (MRT) and the social presence theory (SPT), the results of three experimental studies suggest that VR, when compared to traditional two-dimensional video media (VM), increases empathy, increases responsibility, and encourages higher intention to donate and volunteer towards a social cause. Furthermore, it was shown that VR counteracts the negative effects of social exclusion on prosocial behaviour. In socially excluded participants, VR enhanced the level of guilt and social responsibility, leading to a higher intention to volunteer. Surprisingly, VR was not effective in promoting higher intention of money donation in socially excluded participants.