A person wearing a VR headset as a superhero flying over futuristic city.

Unleash Your Inner Hero: How Virtual Reality Superpowers Boost Real-World Kindness

Soraya Malik in Mind & Education June 2025 • 4 min read.

"New research reveals that embodying a superhero in virtual reality can significantly increase prosocial behavior, proving that virtual experiences can have a profound impact on our everyday actions."

Virtual reality (VR) is more than just a game; it's a powerful tool that can profoundly influence our perceptions and behaviors. Imagine walking across a virtual plank high above a cityscape—even though you know it's not real, your body reacts with genuine fear. VR's ability to create convincing experiences opens up exciting possibilities for therapy, training, and even enhancing our social interactions.

Recent studies have explored how embodying avatars—virtual representations of ourselves—can change our behavior. What happens when we give those avatars extraordinary abilities, like the power of flight? Can experiencing virtual superpowers translate into real-world kindness and helping behavior?

This article delves into a fascinating study that investigates the impact of virtual superpowers on prosocial behavior. Researchers explored whether simply experiencing the power of flight in VR can prime individuals to be more helpful and altruistic in their daily lives. Get ready to discover how virtual reality might just unlock your inner superhero!

Soaring to New Heights: The Science Behind Virtual Superpowers and Kindness

A person wearing a VR headset as a superhero flying over futuristic city.

The study, conducted by Robin S. Rosenberg, Shawnee L. Baughman, and Jeremy N. Bailenson, employed a clever two-by-two design. Participants were divided into groups, with some experiencing the power of flight (controlling their avatar's flight with arm movements, much like Superman) and others riding as passengers in a virtual helicopter. Within these groups, participants were assigned one of two tasks: either searching for a missing diabetic child in need of insulin or touring a virtual city.

The results were striking: participants in the "super-flight" conditions were significantly more likely to help the experimenter pick up spilled pens after their virtual experience compared to those who were virtual passengers in a helicopter. This suggests that the act of flying, of embodying a superhero-like ability, had a tangible impact on their subsequent helping behavior.

The Power of Priming: The researchers theorize that the experience of flight may prime concepts and prototypes associated with superheroes, such as Superman, triggering a sense of responsibility and a desire to help others.
Beyond Gaming: This research extends the findings of previous studies that show prosocial video games can lead to increased helping behavior. VR offers a more immersive and embodied experience, potentially amplifying these effects.
Real-World Impact: The study highlights the potential of VR technology to influence behavior in the physical world, suggesting new avenues for promoting prosocial actions and attitudes.

This study isn't just about fun and games; it dives deep into the mechanics of how virtual experiences can alter our real-world behavior. Here are some ideas and areas that study covered:

The Future is Kind: VR as a Tool for Cultivating Empathy and Prosocial Behavior

The findings of this study open up exciting possibilities for using VR as a tool to encourage prosocial behavior and cultivate empathy. By creating immersive experiences that allow people to embody helpful and altruistic roles, we can potentially prime their brains to act more kindly and compassionately in the real world. From training simulations for emergency responders to virtual environments that foster empathy for marginalized groups, the potential applications are vast and transformative.

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Everything You Need To Know

How does experiencing the power of flight in Virtual Reality influence real-world behavior, according to the study?

The study found that participants who experienced the power of flight in Virtual Reality (VR) were significantly more likely to help the experimenter with a simple task, like picking up spilled pens, compared to those who were virtual passengers in a helicopter. The act of flying, embodying a superhero-like ability, seems to have primed their brains, triggering a sense of responsibility and a desire to help others. This demonstrates that the Virtual Reality experience, specifically the feeling of having superpowers, can translate into increased helping behavior in the physical world.

What is the significance of 'embodying avatars' in Virtual Reality, and how does it relate to prosocial behavior?

Embodying avatars, or virtual representations of ourselves, in Virtual Reality (VR) allows us to experience the world from a different perspective, even with extraordinary abilities like flight. The study explored this by giving participants the power of flight. This experience can prime concepts and prototypes associated with superheroes, such as Superman, which then influences the participants' subsequent actions, making them more inclined to help others. The immersive nature of VR enhances this effect, leading to real-world behavioral changes, unlike traditional media like video games. It suggests a deeper connection between virtual experiences and real-world behavior.

What methodology did the researchers, Robin S. Rosenberg, Shawnee L. Baughman, and Jeremy N. Bailenson, employ in their study on VR and prosocial behavior?

The researchers employed a clever two-by-two design in their study. Participants were divided into groups, with some experiencing the power of flight, controlling their avatar's flight using arm movements, and others riding as passengers in a virtual helicopter. Within these groups, participants were assigned one of two tasks: either searching for a missing diabetic child in need of insulin or touring a virtual city. This design allowed the researchers to isolate the effects of the flight experience on subsequent helping behavior, providing a clear comparison between the two groups.

In what ways does Virtual Reality (VR) offer a more potent experience compared to prosocial video games, according to the study findings?

Virtual Reality (VR) offers a more immersive and embodied experience than traditional prosocial video games. The study suggests that VR's ability to create convincing experiences opens up exciting possibilities for influencing behavior, including increasing helpfulness and kindness. This is because VR allows users to embody avatars and experience the world in a more direct and visceral way, potentially amplifying the effects observed in studies using video games. The study found that the VR experience of having superpowers, like flight, has a tangible impact on subsequent helping behavior, implying VR has a deeper impact than a video game experience.

Beyond the study's immediate findings, what are some potential applications of VR technology in fostering empathy and prosocial behavior, as highlighted?

The study's findings open up exciting possibilities for using Virtual Reality (VR) as a tool to encourage prosocial behavior and cultivate empathy. VR can create immersive experiences that allow people to embody helpful and altruistic roles, potentially priming their brains to act more kindly and compassionately in the real world. This opens the door to training simulations for emergency responders and virtual environments that foster empathy for marginalized groups. The potential applications are vast and transformative, suggesting that VR could be a powerful tool for promoting positive social change in numerous contexts.