Virtual embodiment of white people in a black virtual body leads to a sustained reduction in their implicit racial bias

Virtual reality can be used to visually substitute a person's body by a life-sized virtual one. such embodiment results in a perceptual illusion of body ownership over the virtual body (vb). previous research has shown that the form of the vb can influence implicit attitudes. in particular,embodying white people in a black virtual body is associated with an immediate decrease in their implicit racial bias against black people. we tested whether the reduction in implicit bias lasts for at least 1 week and whether it is enhanced by multiple exposures. two experiments were carried out with a total of 90 female participants where the virtual body was either black or white. participants were required to follow a virtual tai chi teacher who was either asian or european caucasian. each participant had 1,2,or 3 exposures separated by days. implicit racial bias was measured 1 week before their first exposure and 1 week after their last. the results show that implicit bias decreased more for those with the black virtual body than the white. there was also some evidence of a general decrease in bias independently of body type for which possible explanations are put forward. © 2016 banakou,hanumanthu and slater.