Abstract
Grounded in media richness theory, this pilot study examines the impact of various technologies (i.e., TV, smartphone, and VR) on users’ perceptions of Empathy (Shen, 2010), Involvement with the Paralympics (Zaichkowsky, 1994), and Intentions to Support Paralympians (Lewis & Weaver, 2015) using a factorial experiment (N = 21). Data collection was conducted at a private university in the Northeastern U.S. Participants watched an animated documentary, “Raw Emotion Unites Us”, on Paralympians using a smartphone, a VR headset, and a TV at three different time intervals. Each time after watching the documentary, participants completed an online survey that was designed to measure the variables. A repeated measures ANOVA was conducted using JASP. While no significant main effect of technology type was found, there was a statistically significant main effect for time points on Involvement, F(3, 54) = 3.668, p < .05, ω2 = .022. There was also a statistically significant interaction between time points and technology type on (1) Empathy, F(4, 36) = 3.871, p < .001, ω2 = .241, (2) Involvement, F(6, 54) = 3.793, p < .01, ω2 = .039, and (3) Intentions, F(4, 36) = 4.259, p < .01, ω2 = .049. The results suggest that smartphones are effective in enhancing empathy, involvement, and intentions across the three technologies over time, while VR is less effective than other technologies. We present a comprehensive analysis, including detailed results, discussion, and implications.
Presenters
Jinhee YooAssociate Professor, Management, Gannon University, Pennsylvania, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Empathy, Involvement, Intentions, Virtual Reality, Smartphone, TV
