Exploring the interplay between spatial design and prosociality in social VR
Student Researcher
In Progress
Rai Arriaga, Shane Burrell, Kathleen Darby, Jason Deparrie-Turner, Ramtin Ranjpour, Priya Sage, Luke Walker, Isaac Wu
This research explores how design factors in social VR environments influence prosocial behavior, promoting cooperation, empathy, and kindness. While previous studies often focus on individual traits such as avatar appearance and personality, these elements are beyond the designer’s control. This project examines how virtual environments can be intentionally designed to encourage prosociality. Focusing on Horizon Worlds, the study uses a two-phase approach: a qualitative content analysis and interviews, followed by a quantitative lab experiment.
As people spend more time in social virtual worlds, harmful and antisocial behaviors persist, hindering user retention and platform growth. Moderating these behaviors is challenging and resource-intensive. While prosociality is malleable and can be encouraged through design, most research has overlooked the environmental factors within virtual spaces that can nudge users toward positive interactions.
This study identifies how specific design features in social VR, such as lighting, color, sound, and biophilic elements, impact prosocial behaviors. The findings aim to inform the development of a design framework that helps creators foster positive social experiences within virtual worlds.
QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS - COMPLETED
The first phase focuses on content analysis and semi-structured interviews to understand how Horizon Worlds are designed and why certain features are chosen.
Key Activities:
Analyzed 200 Horizon Worlds with a minimum of 500 “likes” to identify common design features.
Developed a codebook covering categories like world capacity, biophilic elements, collaborative features, and color/lighting choices.
Conducted qualitative interviews with Horizon Worlds creators and users to explore their motivations, design decisions, and perceived impact on social interactions.
Outcomes:
Identified prevalent design features and their intended purposes.
Gained insights into how creators approach world-building to foster community engagement.
Collected user perspectives on which elements enhance or hinder prosociality in VR spaces.
QUALITATIVE LAB EXPERIMENT - UPCOMING
Building on Phase 1 findings, Phase 2 involves a multi-factorial lab experiment designed to test how different design elements and contexts influence prosocial behavior.
Key Activities:
Develop custom virtual worlds incorporating varied design factors (e.g., lighting, textures, collaborative features).
Conduct experiments in diverse settings to measure how these features affect: social connectedness, interaction quality, and approach/avoidance behaviors
Outcomes:
Gather data on how users perceive the designed virtual environments and which elements they find most conducive to positive social interactions.
Discover how different contexts (e.g., social, educational, or competitive settings) impact the relationship between design features and prosociality.
Finalize experimental environments and protocols.
Begin participant recruitment and testing.
Analyze results to create a testable design framework for fostering prosociality in social VR platforms.