Empathy and Virtual Reality (VR)

NCT07314788 | Enrolling By Invitation

• 1 other identifier: 20241195
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 110
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This study will characterize the subjective and physiological changes associated with empathy following a fear-inducing virtual reality (VR) experience.

Conditions

Fear; Virtual Reality

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Change in self-reported empathy scores

  Participant will view videos of other individuals undergoing a fear-inducing virtual reality (VR) experience and will self-report level of empathy on a scale 0=not at all to 10=extremely. Average empathy ratings will be compared pre-VR and post-VR.

  Baseline (prior to VR experience) and approximately 5 minutes post-VR experience.

• Change in heart rate

  Average heart rate (beats/minute) will be collected while watching videos of other individuals undergoing a fear-inducing virtual reality (VR) experience and will be compared pre-VR and post-VR.

  Baseline (prior to VR experience) and approximately 5 minutes post-VR experience.

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• Change in the correlation between self-reported anxiety scores of self and another

  Baseline (prior to VR experience) and approximately 5 minutes post-VR experience.

Study Arms (2)

Fear-inducing Virtual Reality (VR) experience

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants will complete a single virtual reality (VR) exposure lasting approximately 1-2 minutes, involving a fear-inducing scenario (e.g., walking a plank above a high-rise building or canyon).

Behavioral: Fear-inducing Virtual Reality (VR) experience

Neutral Virtual Reality (VR) experience

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Participants will complete a single virtual reality (VR) exposure lasting approximately 1-2 minutes, involving a neutral scenario (e.g., walking to the edge of a curb at street level).

Behavioral: Neutral Virtual Reality (VR) experience

Interventions

Neutral Virtual Reality (VR) experience BEHAVIORAL

Participants will complete a single virtual reality (VR) exposure involving a fear-inducing scenario (e.g., walking to the edge of a curb at street level).

Neutral Virtual Reality (VR) experience

Fear-inducing Virtual Reality (VR) experience BEHAVIORAL

Participants will complete a single virtual reality (VR) exposure involving a fear-inducing scenario (e.g., walking a plank above a high-rise building or canyon).

Fear-inducing Virtual Reality (VR) experience

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 25 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• College-aged adults (18-25 years old)
• English-speaking
• Normal or corrected vision.
• Able to provide consent.

You may not qualify if:

• Presence of a significant and/or unstable medical illness (e.g., cardiovascular disease, cancer, neurological disorder) or head trauma (e.g., concussion).
• VR contraindications: epilepsy, migraines, flu, sleep deprivation, etc.
• More than minimal VR experience assessed via self-report (e.g., How often have you used virtual reality in the past? 0=never, 6=very frequently)
• Extreme phobia of heights and/or spiders will be assessed using Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition (DSM-5) specific phobia subscale.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Miami: lead

Study Sites (1)

University of Miami

Coral Gables, Florida, 33146, United States

Location

Study Officials

• Jennifer Britton, Ph.D.

  University of Miami

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: BASIC SCIENCE
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Associate Professor

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: December 18, 2025
• First Posted: January 2, 2026
• Study Start: April 15, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): May 31, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): May 31, 2027
• Last Updated: April 16, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-04

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)