| Description |
Over the last twenty years, organizations have become increasingly interested in the power of emotional intelligence (EI). EI is not static. Indeed, over time, the EI of any given individual can increase or decrease dramatically. Considering it has been continually demonstrated that members of an organization with a higher EI are generally more satisfied, more productive, more agreeable, etc., it is not surprising that organizations wish to find better ways to train individuals to improve various aspects of their emotional intelligence which can ultimately affect other aspects of an individual's philosophy, such as leadership theory. One burgeoning new technology which has started being used more frequently in various forms of training is virtual reality (VR). VR allows an individual to, in essence, walk in someone else's shoes. This phrasing is also often recognized as laymen's terminology as a description of empathy, one of the most recognizable aspects of emotional intelligence. As accessibility to VR increases, it would become more likely organizations could implement some form of EI training through this medium. Over the course of two separate trials, this project examines whether VR has a positive effect on empathy and whether this empathic increase has various implications for organizations - in the case of this paper specifically with leadership theory. |
