Processing Racial Stereotypes in Virtual Reality: An Exploratory Study Using Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS)

This within-subjects exploratory study examined users’ (N = 13) neurological responses to a racially-charged VR experience. The goals of the study are (1) to test a new method of assessing neural activity while users are experiencing VR using non-invasive functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) device and VR headset, and (2) to compare activation in areas of the pre-frontal cortex that have been found to be associated with prejudice and stereotyping (specifically the mPFC and lPFC) while participants are exposed to a racially-charged VR experience vs. a non-racially charged VR experience. There were no significant differences in mPFC activity between the two types of VR experiences suggesting no differences in empathy or “humanizing” for the characters. However, in the racially charged experience, significantly greater activation in the right lPFC was found which could indicate negative stereotype activation. In addition, significantly greater activation in the left lPFC occurred in the racially-charged VR experience which could indicate stereotype inhibition or regulation of negative stereotypes.