Exploring Intergroup Dynamics in Multi-User Social Virtual Reality Spaces using AI-driven Analytics

Social Virtual Reality (SVR) platforms enable embodied, multi-user interaction with rich nonverbal signals (e.g., proxemics, gaze, gesture, and spatial audio), creating new opportunities for mediated intergroup contact and deliberation. Building on intergroup contact principles, we hosted three moderated SVR deliberation sessions focused on the climate crisis with a culturally diverse participant pool. Using mixed methods, we combined pre-/post-session questionnaires on ethnic identity and connectedness, diversity attitudes, sensitivity to inequality, and Big Five personality traits with synchronized headset/controller telemetry logs e.g., proximity, gaze-aligned head motion, hand movements, and speech turn-taking. We found that inclusive facilitation and cooperative task structure supported intergroup engagement and constructive dialogue, while language norms and identity cues had minor effect on participation dynamics. Exploratory links between reported inclusion/identity measures and interaction patterns suggest that computational analysis of participant behavior and movement in the VR space can be linked to participants’ perceptions and attitudes about diversity and about their ethnic and social affiliations, and especially to personality traits. Overall, our findings show that SVR can enable scalable intercultural deliberation when design emphasizes equal-status participation, inclusive atmosphere, clear shared goals, and attention to symbolic hierarchies. Across sessions, participants reported high enjoyment and curiosity. The AI-supported results align with qualitative observations by identifying consistent behavioral patterns associated with different engagement ‘personas’ (e.g., quiet-but-attentive listeners, socially affiliative participants, and high-energy frequent speakers), offering practical insights into intergroup and social interactions in SVR and support facilitator decisions and design choices aimed at supporting intergroup interaction and dialogue.