

Using Superpowers in Virtual Reality to Encourage Prosocial Behavior (2013) [pdf] - jcr
http://vhil.stanford.edu/pubs/2013/rosenberg-plos-virtual-superheroes.pdf

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oxryly1
Very cool.

After the stigma of the antisocial impact of game have followed them for
decades, I'm glad to see some potential prosocial* impact of games.

*: I hadn't even heard or read that word before now. Excellent concept.

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jcr
For the record, "prosocial" is not a real word in the English language [1],
but the phrase "prosocial behavior" [2] is a defined term (albeit somewhat
contrived) in behavioral psychology, sociology and related fields.

You'd probably want to compare "Prosocial Behavior" to general "Social
Behavior" [3], as well as "Antisocial Behavior" [4] and "Asocial Behavior"
[5]. To keep things simple, I consider "Prosocial Behavior" to be a
combination of empathy, consideration, and kindness being shown towards
others.

[1]
[http://dictionary.reference.com/misspelling?term=prosocial](http://dictionary.reference.com/misspelling?term=prosocial)

[2]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosocial_behavior](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosocial_behavior)

[3]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_behavior](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_behavior)

[4] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-
social_behavior](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-social_behavior)

[5]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asociality](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asociality)

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lux
This is very cool. There's a lot of talk in VR about the importance and power
of creating empathy for characters, so this really gives the sense that VR can
be a great tool for improving how people relate to and treat each other.

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wcummings
>Recent studies have shown that playing prosocial video games leads to greater
subsequent prosocial behavior in the real world.

What about the opposite? Does anti-social activity in games lead to anti-
social activity in the real world?

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foogered
I love the extended abstract at the top that includes the principle findings
and conclusion. More academic papers should use this format.

