Virtual morality in the helping professions: Simulated action and resilience

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Virtual Reality Technology
• Occupational Health

Background:

• Virtual reality (VR) enables studying simulated moral actions in difficult dilemmas.
• Limited research explores occupation's impact on moral decision-making.

Purpose of the Study:

• Investigate simulated moral actions in VR among paramedics and fire incident commanders.
• Examine the influence of professional training and experience on moral decision-making and emotional response.

Main Methods:

• Utilized virtual reality simulations of aversive moral dilemmas.
• Compared moral actions, judgments, emotional arousal, and regret between trained professionals and untrained controls.
• Assessed empathic and personality traits in relation to professional experience.

Main Results:

• Trained professionals exhibited distinct empathic and personality traits, which decreased with experience.
• Reduced emotional arousal and regret were observed in trained individuals during distressing VR dilemmas.
• Trained professionals made similar moral judgments and actions compared to controls, differing in emotional response.

Conclusions:

• Professional experience in high-stress occupations may foster emotional resilience rather than alter core moral judgment.
• The decline in empathy with experience appears complex, potentially reflecting adaptive emotional regulation.
• Findings suggest a nuanced understanding of empathy decline in healthcare and emergency professionals is needed.