Exploring the Effects of Virtual Reality on Empathy and Charitable Fundraising

The focus of this Honors thesis is to explore the effects of Virtual Reality ("VR") on empathy. More specifically, the purpose is to compare and contrast the ability of VR to evoke empathy against that of traditional two-dimensional media ("2D"). To accomplish this I (alongside a group of my peers) organized a formal research project in which subjects were asked a series of questions; then exposed to the same video in either 2D or VR. Following the video, they were asked the same questions once again. Their responses were recorded and the changes in their answers (before and after) were juxtaposed to observe and note changes. As an Honors Finance student, the primary focus of my involvement in our formal experiment, and consequently the primary concentration of this thesis, is to explore the effectiveness and viability of utilizing VR for charitable organization fundraising. My fervent hope and intent is that this research will aid charitable organizations in assessing the viability of VR as a key marketing tool to potentially capture and enhance donations during their fundraising campaigns.