Virtual Reality and Political Outgroup Contact: Can Avatar Customization and Common Ingroup Identity Reduce Social Distance?

This study ( N = 217) explores the potential for virtual reality to decrease social distance toward outgroup members among women. Raising salience of individuals’ real physical identity through avatar customization and common ingroup manipulations was theorized influence distance. Participants who customized an resemble their selves showed increased However, also user identifiability, which linked reduced Priming a but did not In examining heterogeneous effects by prior levels issue involvement, participants with high moderate involvement immigration after customizing selves, thus implying boomerang effects. The discusses how customization, primes in encounters may attitudes intergroup relations.