More than a feeling: empathic reflection through virtual experiences

Reflection enables individuals to derive meaning from experiences. It is deeply ingrained in an empathic interaction that fosters a nuanced understanding of varied perspectives. While empathy is recognised as a transformative tool in design education, a limited number of studies explore students' empathy development. By leveraging Virtual Reality (VR) capabilities, including perspective-taking and emotion elicitation, combined with the innate human capacity for reflection, this research investigates a structured approach through a qualitative study to enhance design students’ empathy and integrate it into design education. Driven by the need for human-centred design (HCD) practices to foster more-than-human perspectives, participants were invited to step into the world of a tree using VR, followed by a self-reflective writing activity in which they recalled their thoughts and emotions during the virtual experience. This research introduces a novel method for eliciting augmented empathic experiences by heightening design students’ awareness of a unique perspective and deepening their insight into their personal experience. The method facilitates long-term evaluation of empathy responses, providing opportunities for sustained empathy development. By broadening students' understanding of diverse perspectives, this study lays the foundation for a new generation of human-centred design solutions that embed inclusive, social, and ecological values within design education.