An Auti-Sim Intervention: The Role of Perspective Taking in Combating Public Stigma with Virtual Simulations
| Autor: | Hark-Shin Kim, Melanie A. Sarge, John A. Velez |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2020 |
| Předmět: |
Social Psychology
Communication media_common.quotation_subject 05 social sciences Psychological intervention 050801 communication & media studies 050109 social psychology General Medicine Computer Science Applications Sensory overload Human-Computer Interaction 0508 media and communications Categorization Dispositional attribution Vignette Perception Perspective-taking 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences Situational ethics Psychology Social psychology Applied Psychology media_common |
| Zdroj: | Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking. 23:41-51 |
| ISSN: | 2152-2723 2152-2715 |
| DOI: | 10.1089/cyber.2019.0678 |
| Popis: | Public stigma associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) commonly stems from judgments surrounding sensory overload symptoms. As individuals try and make sense of observed disordered behaviors of those with ASD, they are quick to develop dispositional attributions instead of acknowledging situational instigators. Interventions aimed at educating the lay public that disordered actions are a result of a biological causes have been successful in lessening perceptions of responsibility, yet foster an out-group perspective allowing prejudice attitudes and discriminatory behaviors to persist. The present study examines the short-term effectiveness of engagement with a virtual simulation, Auti-Sim, to combat stigma by giving lay people a first-person experience of sensory overload. To assess Auti-Sim, a between-subject, in-laboratory experimental design was employed. A total of 123 undergraduate students were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 interventions (virtual simulation engagement, observation of simulation engagement, or reading text vignettes). Participants completed a brief pretest questionnaire, encountered the intervention, and then completed a post-test questionnaire. Engagement with the virtual simulation resulted in heightened perspective taking, which subsequently increased emotional concern, helping intentions, and willingness to volunteer compared with the observation only or text vignette intervention. Positive attitudes toward those with ASD did not differ across interventions. Fostering a different understanding of disordered action through a virtual simulation has the potential to elicit perspective taking and subsequent empathetic outcomes. Perspective taking seems to encourage perceptions of in-group belonging rather than out-group categorization and thus might be a desired outcome for stigma-reducing efforts. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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