Effects of witnessing accidents in virtual reality on reception of safety training : the role of empathy toward virtual victims

Abstract

The study investigated the effects of a virtual reality (VR)–based experience of witnessing accidents in the construction industry on the motivation and reception of safety training information. Previous studies have investigated the effects of exposure to accidents and/or injuries in VR from a first-person perspective. However, the virtual experience of such accidents may desensitize trainees and lower their sensitivity towards workplace hazards. The objective of the reported study was to address this gap by proposing a novel VR-based training method focusing on the effects of witnessing accidents rather than experiencing them firsthand. A lab-based experiment was conducted in which participants were exposed to VR scenarios which they witnessed either no accident, a fatal accident, or a fatal accident with background information on close relationships between colleagues and the victim. The results show that witnessing a VR-based accident increases people’s attitude toward construction safety and motivation to learn about construction safety. Follow-up analysis revealed that witnessing a VR-based accident had an indirect effect on motivation, which was mediated by its effect on associative empathy toward the virtual victim and moderated by social presence in VR. The results highlight the role of associative empathy and social presence as critical factors mediating the impact of VR-based accident scenarios. These findings have significant implications for the design of VR-based safety training – instead of solely focusing on experiencing accidents, witnessing accidents happening to virtual characters could be a potential approach for training. Additionally, incorporating interpersonal information has become a crucial aspect in training designs.