Recent years have VR deployed in order to change attitudes.

VR may also have a role in reducing the dehumanisation of other social groups.

Potential routes to this are virtual presence, virtual contact and VR embodiment.

Further research is needed to test the efficacy and mechanisms of these routes.

The potential risks of VR increasing dehumanisation must also be considered.

This paper presents evidence that Virtual reality (VR) has the potential to reduce dehumanisation via a range of different routes, notably the experience of being present in a situation with outgroup members, experiencing virtual contact and interaction with the outgroup and taking on the perspective or even body of an outgroup member. In addition, it hightlights key questions that require future research, including the strength of empirical evidence that VR can indeed reduce dehumanisation, the mechanisms by which such a process occurs and the ethical issues in treating VR as an 'ultimate empathy machine'.

© 2023 The Author. Published by Elsevier Ltd.