TY - GEN
T1 - INTERGROUP DYNAMICS IN VIRTUAL REALITY
T2 - 18th International Conferences IADIS Information Systems 2025 and 23rd International Conference on e-Society 2025
AU - Miler, Timor Schwartz
AU - Steinfeld, Nili
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2025 Proceedings of the International Conferences IADIS Information Systems 2025 and e-Society 2025. All rights reserved.
PY - 2025
Y1 - 2025
N2 - The study examines intergroup dynamics, biases, cooperation, and competition in social virtual reality (SVR), focusing on the interactions between members of minority and majority groups. A total of 72 Jewish Israeli participants-38 women and 34 men-were recruited from diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds, including Ethiopian and other Jewish ethnicities, as well as ultra-Orthodox and secular communities. These participants were chosen to represent key social dynamics and conflicts within Israeli society. They participated in organized intergroup meetings held in VR. Activities involved team-based cooperation and competition. A qualitative research approach was employed, utilizing open-ended questionnaires and observational methods to examine participant behavior during the session within the framework of participatory action research (PAR). In-group preferences were expressed in participant’s choice of partners and spatial proximity to others in some of the groups, whereas in other cases- participants were prone to keep the partners they initially grouped with, regardless of their group identity, throughout the session. We discuss the results and their implications for designing realistic, significant intergroup encounters in SVR.
AB - The study examines intergroup dynamics, biases, cooperation, and competition in social virtual reality (SVR), focusing on the interactions between members of minority and majority groups. A total of 72 Jewish Israeli participants-38 women and 34 men-were recruited from diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds, including Ethiopian and other Jewish ethnicities, as well as ultra-Orthodox and secular communities. These participants were chosen to represent key social dynamics and conflicts within Israeli society. They participated in organized intergroup meetings held in VR. Activities involved team-based cooperation and competition. A qualitative research approach was employed, utilizing open-ended questionnaires and observational methods to examine participant behavior during the session within the framework of participatory action research (PAR). In-group preferences were expressed in participant’s choice of partners and spatial proximity to others in some of the groups, whereas in other cases- participants were prone to keep the partners they initially grouped with, regardless of their group identity, throughout the session. We discuss the results and their implications for designing realistic, significant intergroup encounters in SVR.
KW - Behavioral Observations
KW - Cultural Identity
KW - In-group Bias
KW - Intergroup Contact
KW - Minority-Majority Relations
KW - Social Virtual Reality (SVR)
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=105003302395&partnerID=8YFLogxK
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AN - SCOPUS:105003302395
T3 - Proceedings of the International Conferences IADIS Information Systems 2025 and e-Society 2025
SP - 400
EP - 407
BT - Proceedings of the International Conferences IADIS Information Systems 2025 and e-Society 2025
A2 - Nunes, Miguel Baptista
A2 - Isaias, Pedro
A2 - Powell, Philip
A2 - Kommers, Piet
A2 - Rodrigues, Luis
PB - IADIS
Y2 - 1 March 2025 through 3 March 2025
ER -