[DC] Using VR Embodiment and Co-embodiment to Improve Our Lives

Owning another body in Virtual Reality (VR) has been proven to trigger changes in participants’ social cognition, attitude, and behaviour. This PhD thesis aims to explore the capacity of VR embodiment and ways to use it to improve our lives. In study 1, we investigated embodied time travel in behaviour change to address the climate crisis and found that embodied VR experience triggered a more pronounced response in participants’ perceived influence on climate action and engagement in pro-environment behaviours. Study 2 plans to explore the effect of co-embodiment (sharing an avatar with another entity) on motor skills learning. We built an initial prototype where participants could learn Tai Chi moves with an AI teacher, and plan to investigate whether co-embodiment could enhance learning.