Scientists explain how this effect can change your perceptions by making you perform the mental gymnastics needed to believe you are in another’s body.
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IMAGE: In the new experiment, 92 white female participants stood in a virtual street embodied either in a white or black body, with crowds of virtual people walking by. view more
Credit: D. Banakou et al. Royal Society Open Science
Implicit racial bias refers to the automatic non-conscious behaviours, even if one s explicit attitude is not biased at all. Several studies have shown these prejudices are reduced in white people after being in the body of a black person in virtual reality. Now, a study carried out by researchers of the University of Barcelona shows that when the virtual scenario is affectively negative, implicit bias increases, and even the illusion of owning a virtual body is lessened. Researchers argue that negative affect prevents the formation of new positive associations with black, and distress leads to disownership of the virtual body. These results, published in the journal