Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Video Games to Foster Empathy: A Critical Analysis of the Potential of Detroit: Become Human and the Walking Dead

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
Universal Access in Human-Computer Interaction. Applications and Practice (HCII 2020)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNISA,volume 12189))

Included in the following conference series:

Abstract

Empathy, defined as “the ability to understand and share another’s emotional state or context,” is absolutely essential to human interactions at both the individual and societal levels as it enables people to share and understand other people’s feelings. If empathy is indeed such an important facet of humanity, the question of how it can be learned and taught is crucial. Today, new methods and tools to help individuals foster their empathic abilities are available, including information and communication technologies. Within this context, video games appear to be an interesting new approach for developing empathy since they provide situated, action-oriented, and embodied experiences that allow individuals to “step into someone else’s shoes.” Furthermore, computer games are low cost and widespread among the population and, if effective, could have a wide impact on promoting a more empathic society. Considering this perspective, a critical analysis of the potential of two recent best-selling video games – Detroit: Become Human and The Walking Dead – is discussed, with the aim to offer insights and practical applications for the adoption of these games to promote empathy-related abilities, in players.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Entertainment Software Assotiation: Essential Facts About the Computer and Video Game Industry 2018, Entertainment Software Assotiation (2018). http://www.theesa.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/EF2018_FINAL.pdf/. Accessed 31 Dec 2019

  2. Shieber, J.: Video game revenue tops $43 billion in 2018, an 18% jump from 2017. Techcrunch (2018). https://techcrunch.com/2019/01/22/video-game-revenue-tops-43-billion-in-2018-an-18-jump-from-2017/. Accessed 31 Dec 2019

  3. Villani, D., Carissoli, C., Triberti, S., Marchetti, A., Gilli, G., Riva, G.: Videogames for emotion regulation: a systematic review. Games Health J. 7(2), 85–99 (2018)

    Google Scholar 

  4. Reichmuth, P., Werning, S.: Pixel pashas, digital Djinns. ISIM Rev. 18, 46–47 (2006)

    Google Scholar 

  5. Jones, C.M., Scholes, L., Johnson, D., Katsikitis, M., Carras, M.C.: Gaming well: links between videogames and flourishing mental health. Front. Psychol. 5, 260 (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  6. Pallavicini, F., Ferrari, A., Mantovani, F.: Video games for well-being: a systematic review on the application of computer games for cognitive and emotional training in the adult population. Front. Psychol. 9, 2127 (2018)

    Google Scholar 

  7. Pallavicini, F., Bouchard, S.: Editorial: assessing the therapeutic uses and effectiveness of virtual reality, augmented reality and video games for emotion regulation and stress management. Front. Psychol. 10, 2763 (2019)

    Google Scholar 

  8. Katsarov, J., Christen, M., Mauerhofer, R., Schmocker, D., Tanner, C.: Training moral sensitivity through video games: a review of suitable game mechanisms. Games Cult. 14(4), 344–366 (2019)

    Google Scholar 

  9. Morganti, L., Pallavicini, F., Cadel, E., Candelieri, A., Archetti, F., Mantovani, F.: Gaming for earth: serious games and gamification to engage consumers in pro-environmental behaviours for energy efficiency. Energy Res. Soc. Sci. 29(July), 95–102 (2017)

    Google Scholar 

  10. Belman, J., Flanagan, M.: Designing games to foster empathy. Int. J. Cogn. Technol. 14(2), 5–15 (2010)

    Google Scholar 

  11. Kral, T.R.A., et al.: Neural correlates of video game empathy training in adolescents: a randomized trial. Npj Sci. Learn. 3(1), 13 (2018)

    Google Scholar 

  12. Lara, E., Rodas-Osollo, J., Ochoa, A., Rivera, G.: Development of a serious games for asperger syndrome based on a bio-inspired algorithm to measure empathy performance. In: Research in Computing Science, vol. 148(6), pp. 111–121. National Polytechnic Institute (2019)

    Google Scholar 

  13. de Vignemont, F., Singer, T.: The empathic brain: how, when and why? Trends Cogn. Sci. 10(10), 435–441 (2006)

    Google Scholar 

  14. Blair, R.J.R.: Responding to the emotions of others: dissociating forms of empathy through the study of typical and psychiatric populations. Conscious. Cogn. 14(4), 698–718 (2005)

    Google Scholar 

  15. Preston, S.D., de Waal, F.B.M.: Empathy: Its ultimate and proximate bases. Behav. Brain Sci. 25(1), 1–20 (2002)

    Google Scholar 

  16. Batson, C.D.: These things called empathy: eight related but distinct phenomena. In: The Social Neuroscience of Empathy, pp. 3–16. MIT Press (2009)

    Google Scholar 

  17. Cohen, D., Strayer, J.: Empathy in conduct-disordered and comparison youth. Dev. Psychol. 32(6), 988–998 (1996)

    Google Scholar 

  18. Davis, M.H.: Empathy and prosocial behavior. In: The Oxford Handbook of Prosocial Behavior, pp. 282–306. Oxford University Press (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  19. Stephan, W.G., Finlay, K.: The role of empathy in improving intergroup relations. J. Soc. Issues 55(4), 729–743 (1999)

    Google Scholar 

  20. Hoffman, M.L.: Empathy and Moral Development. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (2000)

    Google Scholar 

  21. Davis, M.H.: Empathy. In: Encyclopedia of Human Relationships, pp. 515–520. SAGE Publications, Thousand Oaks (2009)

    Google Scholar 

  22. Batson, C.D., Early, S., Salvarani, G.: Perspective taking: imagining how another feels versus imaging how you would feel. Pers. Soc. Psychol. Bull. 23(7), 751–758 (1997)

    Google Scholar 

  23. Davis, M.H.: A multidimensional approach to individual difference in empathy. JSAS Catal. Sel. Doc. Psychol. 10, 85 (1980)

    Google Scholar 

  24. Davis, M.H.: Empathy: A Social Psychological Approach. Westview Press, Boulder (1994)

    Google Scholar 

  25. Batson, C.D.: Empathy-induced altruism: friend or foe of the common good? In: For the Greater Good of All, pp. 29–47. Palgrave MacMillan, New York (2011)

    Google Scholar 

  26. Davis, M.H.: Empathy. In: Stets, J.E., Turner, J.H. (eds.) Handbook of the Sociology of Emotions, pp. 443–466. Springer, Boston (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-30715-2_20

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  27. Decety, J.: The neurodevelopment of empathy in humans. Dev. Neurosci. 32(4), 257–267 (2010)

    Google Scholar 

  28. Bernhardt, B.C., Singer, T.: The neural basis of empathy. Ann. Rev. Neurosci. 35(1), 1–23 (2012)

    Google Scholar 

  29. Riess, H.: Empathy in medicine—a neurobiological perspective. JAMA 304(14), 1604 (2010)

    Google Scholar 

  30. Riess, H.: The science of empathy. J. Patient Exp. 4(2), 74–77 (2017)

    Google Scholar 

  31. Goleman, D.: Social Intelligence: The New Science of Human Relationships. Bantam Books, New York (2006)

    Google Scholar 

  32. Singer, T., Lamm, C.: The social neuroscience of empathy. Ann. New York Acad. Sci. 1156(1), 81–96 (2009)

    Google Scholar 

  33. Batson, C.D., Eklund, J.H., Chermok, V.L., Hoyt, J.L., Ortiz, B.G.: An additional antecedent of empathic concern: valuing the welfare of the person in need. J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 93(1), 65–74 (2007)

    Google Scholar 

  34. Baron-Cohen, S., Wheelwright, S.: The empathy quotient: an investigation of adults with Asperger syndrome or high functioning autism, and normal sex differences. J. Autism Dev. Disord. 34(2), 163–175 (2004)

    Google Scholar 

  35. Eisenberg, N., Miller, P.A.: The relation of empathy to prosocial and related behaviors. Psychol. Bull. 101(1), 91–119 (1987)

    Google Scholar 

  36. Darwin, C.R.: Journal of Researches into the Natural History and Geology of the Various Countries Visited by H.M.S. Beagle. John Murray, London (1990)

    Google Scholar 

  37. Batson, C.D., Powell, A.A.: Altruism and prosocial behavior. In: Handbook of Psychology, pp. 463–484. Wiley, Hoboken (2003)

    Google Scholar 

  38. Tusche, A., Böckler, A., Kanske, P., Trautwein, F.M., Singer, T.: Decoding the charitable brain: empathy, perspective taking, and attention shifts differentially predict altruistic giving. J. Neurosci. 36(17), 4719–4732 (2016)

    Google Scholar 

  39. Davis, M.H.: Empathy: A Social Psychological Approach. Routledge, Abingdon (2018)

    Google Scholar 

  40. Nagamine, M., et al.: The relationship between dispositional empathy, psychological distress, and posttraumatic stress responses among Japanese uniformed disaster workers: a cross-sectional study. BMC Psychiatry 18(1), 328 (2018)

    Google Scholar 

  41. de Wied, M., Branje, S.J.T., Meeus, W.H.J.: Empathy and conflict resolution in friendship relations among adolescents. Aggress. Behav. 33(1), 48–55 (2007)

    Google Scholar 

  42. Main, A., Walle, E.A., Kho, C., Halpern, J.: The interpersonal functions of empathy: a relational perspective. Emot. Rev. 9(4), 358–366 (2017)

    Google Scholar 

  43. Mueller, M.A., Waas, G.A.: College students’ perceptions of suicide: the role of empathy on attitudes, evaluation, and responsiveness. Death Stud. 26(4), 325–341 (2002)

    Google Scholar 

  44. Litvack-Miller, W., McDougall, D., Romney, D.M.: The structure of empathy during middle childhood and its relationship to prosocial behavior. Genet. Soc. Gen. Psychol. Monogr. 123(3), 303–324 (1997)

    Google Scholar 

  45. Wagner, U., Handke, L., Walter, H.W.: The relationship between trait empathy and memory formation for social vs. non-social information. BMC Psychol. 3(1), 2 (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  46. Batson, C.D., et al.: Is empathic emotion a source of altruistic motivation? J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 40(2), 290–302 (1981)

    Google Scholar 

  47. Oswald, P.A.: The effects of cognitive and affective perspective taking on empathic concern and altruistic helping. J. Soc. Psychol. 136(5), 613–623 (1996)

    Google Scholar 

  48. Miller, P.A., Eisenberg, N.: The relation of empathy to aggressive and externalizing/antisocial behavior. Psychol. Bull. 103(3), 324–344 (1988)

    Google Scholar 

  49. Moor, A., Silvern, L.: Identifying pathways linking child abuse to psychological outcome. J. Emot. Abuse 6(4), 91–114 (2006)

    Google Scholar 

  50. Wheeler, J.G., George, W.H., Dahl, B.J.: Sexually aggressive college males: empathy as a moderator in the “Confluence Model” of sexual aggression. Pers. Ind. Diff. 33(5), 759–775 (2002)

    Google Scholar 

  51. Giancola, P.R.: The moderating effects of dispositional empathy on alcohol-related aggression in men and women. J. Abnorm. Psychol. 112(2), 275–281 (2003)

    Google Scholar 

  52. Kollmuss, A., Agyeman, J.: Mind the gap: why do people act environmentally and what are the barriers to pro-environmental behavior? Environ. Educ. Res. 8(3), 239–260 (2002)

    Google Scholar 

  53. Brown, K., et al.: Empathy, place and identity interactions for sustainability. Glob. Environ. Change 56, 11–17 (2019)

    Google Scholar 

  54. Tam, K.-P.: Dispositional empathy with nature. J. Environ. Psychol. 35, 92–104 (2013)

    Google Scholar 

  55. Berenguer, J.: The effect of empathy in proenvironmental attitudes and behaviors. Environ. Behav. 39(2), 269–283 (2007)

    Google Scholar 

  56. Konrath, S.H., O’Brien, E.H., Hsing, C.: Changes in dispositional empathy in American college students over time: a meta-analysis. Pers. Soc. Psychol. Rev. 15(2), 180–198 (2011)

    Google Scholar 

  57. Schumann, K., Zaki, J., Dweck, C.S.: Addressing the empathy deficit: beliefs about the malleability of empathy predict effortful responses when empathy is challenging. J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 107(3), 475–493 (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  58. Henriksen, D.: Embodied thinking as empathy through gaming: perspective taking in a complex world. In: Henriksen, D. (ed.) The 7 Transdisciplinary Cognitive Skills for Creative Education. SECT, pp. 41–50. Springer, Cham (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-59545-0_6

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  59. Gagné, F.: The DMGT: changes within, beneath, and beyond. Talent Dev. Excell. 5(1), 5–19 (2013)

    Google Scholar 

  60. Bertrand, P., Guegan, J., Robieux, L., McCall, C.A., Zenasni, F.: Learning empathy through virtual reality: multiple strategies for training empathy-related abilities using body ownership illusions in embodied virtual reality. Front. Robot. AI 5, 26 (2018)

    Google Scholar 

  61. Elias, J., et al.: Promoting Social and Emotional Learning: Guidelines for Educators. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, Alexandria (1996)

    Google Scholar 

  62. Karagiorgi, Y., Symeou, L.: Translating constructivism into instructional design: potential and limitations. J. Educ. Technol. Soc. 8(1), 17–27 (2005)

    Google Scholar 

  63. Mcmahan, A.: Immersion, Engagement, and Presence A Method for Analyzing 3-D Video Games. Routledge, New York (2003)

    Google Scholar 

  64. Michailidis, L., Balaguer-Ballester, E., He, X.: Flow and immersion in video games: the aftermath of a conceptual challenge. Front. Psychol. 9, 1682 (2018)

    Google Scholar 

  65. Stang, S.: This action will have consequences: interactivity and player agency. Game Stud. 19(1) (2019)

    Google Scholar 

  66. Juul, J.: The Art of Failure: An Essay on the Pain of Playing Video Games. MIT Press, Cambridge (2013)

    Google Scholar 

  67. Bogost, I., Ferrari, S., Schweizer, B.: Newsgames: Journalism at Play. MIT Press, Cambridge (2010)

    Google Scholar 

  68. Plewe, C., Fürsich, E.: Are newsgames better journalism? J. Stud. 19(16), 2470–2487 (2018)

    Google Scholar 

  69. Rollins, A., Morris, D.: Game Architecture and Design. Coriolis Ed. (2000)

    Google Scholar 

  70. Rollings, A., Ernest, A.: Fundamentals of Game Design. Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River (2006)

    Google Scholar 

  71. Chen, A., Hanna, J.J., Manohar, A., Tobia, A.: Teaching empathy: the implementation of a video game into a psychiatry clerkship curriculum. Acad. Psychiatry 42(3), 362–365 (2018)

    Google Scholar 

  72. Gilbert, L.: “Assassin’s creed” reminds us that history is human experience”: students’ senses of empathy while playing a narrative video game. Theory Res. Soc. Educ. 47(1), 108–137 (2019)

    Google Scholar 

  73. Jenkins, H.: Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media collide. New York University Press, New York (2006)

    Google Scholar 

  74. Lebowitz, J., Klug, C.: Interactive Storytelling for Video Games: A Player-Centered Approach to Creating Memorable Characters and Stories. Focal Press, Waltham (2011)

    Google Scholar 

  75. Asimov, I.: I, Robot. Gnome Press and Doubleday, New York (1950)

    Google Scholar 

  76. Dick, P.K.: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?. Doubleday, New York (1968)

    Google Scholar 

  77. Bukatman, S.: Terminal Identity. The Virtual Subject in Postmodern Science Fiction. Duke University Press, London (1993)

    Google Scholar 

  78. Khan, Z.: David Cage Opens Up About Detroit Become Human Development. Playstationlifestyle (2019). https://www.playstationlifestyle.net/2019/05/04/cage-on-detroit-become-human-development/. Accessed 31 Dec 2019

  79. Seppala, T.J.: PS4 exclusive “Detroit” is a flawed depiction of race in America Engadget (2018). https://www.engadget.com/2018/05/24/detroit-become-human-ps4-review/. Accessed 31 Dec 2019

  80. Jones, H.: “Detroit: become human”: exploitative and tasteless. Goomba Stomp (2018). https://goombastomp.com/detroit-become-human-exploitative/. Accessed 31 Dec 2019

  81. Orland, K.: Quantic dream patches over one of Detroit’s most emotional moments. Ars Techica (2018). https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2018/06/quantic-dream-patches-over-one-of-detroits-most-emotional-moments/. Accessed 31 Dec 2019

  82. Linneman, J.: Detroit: become human is a different kind of tech showcase Eurogamer (2018). https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2018-detroit-become-human-tech-analysis/. Accessed 31 Dec 2019

  83. Smethurst, T., Craps, S.: Playing with trauma: interreactivity, empathy, and complicity in the walking dead video game. Games Cult. 10(3), 269–290 (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  84. Concepcion, M.: GDC 2013: 9 takeaways from “saving doug: empathy, character, and choice in the walking dead”. MTV Video Games (2013). http://www.mtv.com/news/2466983/gdc-2013-9-takeaways-from-saving-doug-empathy-character-and-choice-in-the-walking-dead/. Accessed 31 Dec 2019

  85. Smith, R.: Empathy games. Gameological Society (2013). http://gameological.com/2013/05/empathy-in-the-walking-dead/index.html/. Accessed 31 Dec 2019

  86. Watts, S.: Interview: the walking dead writer on making a game with “no good decisions”. Shacknews (2012). https://www.shacknews.com/article/75594/the-walking-dead-is-about-impossible-choices-writer-says. Accessed 31 Dec 2019

  87. Bopp, J.A., Müller, L.J., Aeschbach, L.F., Opwis, K., Mekler, E.D.: Exploring emotional attachment to game characters. In: Proceedings of the Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play - CHI Play 2019, pp. 313–324. ACM Press, New York (2019)

    Google Scholar 

  88. Taylor, N., Kampe, C., Bell, K.: Me and Lee: identification and the play of attraction in the walking dead. Game Stud. 15(1) (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  89. New York Post: Interview with ‘The Walking Dead’ video game writer Gary Whitta. New York Post (2012). https://nypost.com/2012/10/01/interview-with-the-walking-dead-video-game-writer-gary-whitta/. Accessed 31 Dec 2019

  90. Wallace, K.: Creating clementine. Game Infomer (2012). https://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2012/12/26/creating-clementine.aspx/. Accessed 31 Dec 2019

  91. Madigan, J.: The walking dead, mirror neurons, and empathy. The psychology of video games (2012). https://www.psychologyofgames.com/2012/11/the-walking-dead-mirror-neurons-and-empathy/. Accessed 31 Dec 2019

  92. Triberti, S., Villani, D., Riva, G.: Moral positioning in video games and its relation with dispositional traits: the emergence of a social dimension. Comput. Hum. Behav. 50, 1–8 (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  93. Spanlang, B., et al.: How to build an embodiment lab: achieving body representation illusions in virtual reality. Front. Robot. AI 1, 9 (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  94. Squire, K., Jenkins, H.: Video Games and Learning: Teaching and Participatory Culture in the Digital Age. Teachers College Press, New York (2011)

    Google Scholar 

  95. Bailenson, J.: Experience on Demand: What Virtual Reality Is, How It Works, and What It Can Do. Norton & Company, New York (2018)

    Google Scholar 

  96. Gee, J.P.: What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy. Palgrave Macmillan, London (2003)

    Google Scholar 

  97. Waszkiewicz, A.: The Posthuman Android and the Transhuman player in Detroit: become human. Acta Hum. 9, 197 (2019)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Human Sciences for Education “Riccardo Massa”, University of Milan-Bicocca, Piazza dell’Ateneo Nuovo 1, 2016, Milan, Italy

    Federica Pallavicini, Alessandro Pepe & Fabrizia Mantovani

  2. Department of Psychology, University of Milan-Bicocca, Piazza dell’Ateneo Nuovo 1, 2016, Milan, Italy

    Chiara Carmela Caragnano

Authors
  1. Federica Pallavicini
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Alessandro Pepe
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Chiara Carmela Caragnano
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Fabrizia Mantovani
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

FP proposed the study, supervised the scientific asset, and wrote the first draft of the paper. All four authors were involved in the drafting, revising, and completing the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Federica Pallavicini .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Foundation for Research and Technology – Hellas (FORTH), Heraklion, Crete, Greece

    Margherita Antona

  2. University of Crete and Foundation for Research and Technology – Hellas (FORTH), Heraklion, Crete, Greece

    Constantine Stephanidis

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this paper

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this paper

Pallavicini, F., Pepe, A., Caragnano, C.C., Mantovani, F. (2020). Video Games to Foster Empathy: A Critical Analysis of the Potential of Detroit: Become Human and the Walking Dead. In: Antona, M., Stephanidis, C. (eds) Universal Access in Human-Computer Interaction. Applications and Practice. HCII 2020. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 12189. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-49108-6_16

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-49108-6_16

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-49107-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-49108-6

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation