Oregon Reality Lab, School of Journalism and Communication, University of Oregon, Portland, OR, USA.
School of Journalism and Communications, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
Sci Rep. 2022 Apr 19;12(1):6439. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-10268-y.
Efforts to mitigate environmental threats are often inversely related to the magnitude of casualty, human or otherwise. This "compassion fade" can be explained, in part, by differential processing of large- versus small-scale threats: it is difficult to form empathic connections with unfamiliar masses versus singular victims. Despite robust findings, little is known about how non-human casualty is processed, and what strategies override this bias. Across four experiments, we show how embodying threatened megafauna-Loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta Caretta)-using virtual reality can offset and reverse compassion fade. After observing compassion fade during exposure to non-human casualty in virtual reality (Study 1; N = 60), we then tested a custom virtual reality simulation designed to facilitate body transfer with a threatened Loggerhead sea turtle (Study 2; N = 98). Afterwards, a field experiment (Study 3; N = 90) testing the simulation with varied number of victims showed body transfer offset compassion fade. Lastly, a fourth study (N = 25) found that charitable giving among users embodying threatened wildlife was highest when exposed to one versus several victims, though this effect was reversed if victims were of a different species. The findings demonstrate how animal embodiment in virtual reality alters processing of environmental threats and non-human casualty, thereby influencing conservation outcomes.
减轻环境威胁的努力往往与伤亡人数（无论是人类还是其他生物）的大小成反比。这种“同情衰减”可以部分解释为对大规模和小规模威胁的不同处理：与不熟悉的群体相比，很难与单个受害者建立同理心。尽管有强有力的发现，但人们对非人类伤亡的处理方式以及哪些策略可以克服这种偏见知之甚少。在四项实验中，我们展示了如何通过虚拟现实来体现受威胁的巨型动物——红海龟（Caretta Caretta），从而抵消和扭转同情衰减。在虚拟现实中观察到非人类伤亡导致的同情衰减后（研究 1；N=60），我们随后测试了一种定制的虚拟现实模拟，旨在促进与受威胁的红海龟的身体转移（研究 2；N=98）。之后，一项现场实验（研究 3；N=90）使用不同数量的受害者对模拟进行了测试，结果表明身体转移可以抵消同情衰减。最后，第四项研究（N=25）发现，当用户在虚拟现实中体现受威胁的野生动物时，面对一个受害者比面对多个受害者更愿意捐赠，尽管如果受害者是不同的物种，这种效果就会逆转。这些发现表明，虚拟现实中的动物体现如何改变了对环境威胁和非人类伤亡的处理方式，从而影响了保护成果。
