The effects of a synchronous full-body interactive mixed reality system on the prosocial behavior of children with and without autism spectrum condition

Schumacher, Karina

The effects of a synchronous full-body interactive mixed reality system on the prosocial behavior of children with and without autism spectrum condition

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Schumacher, K. The effects of a synchronous full-body interactive mixed reality system on the prosocial behavior of children with and without autism spectrum condition. 2023. handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10230/58173

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Abstract

Prosociality refers to behaviors that are intended to benefit others and is, therefore, a key element of a thriving society. Fostering prosocial behaviors in children with Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC) can be more challenging than in children without ASC. ASC is characterized by repetitive behaviors and difficulties with social skills, speech and nonverbal communication. With more emerging Information Communication Technologies (ICT), there are modern approaches, such as full-body interaction Mixed Reality (MR) systems, for intervention methods with the aim to help children with ASC to reduce the symptoms that interfere with their daily life. Interpersonal entrainment (IPE) has been shown to increase prosocial effects, such as sharing or cooperating, in groups that experience this state together. The Full-Body Interaction Laboratory at Universitat Pompeu Fabra has developed an MR experience for children that can be played in a synchronous mode, aiming to achieve higher IPE, and an asynchronous mode. The main goals of this study are (i) to define a measure to test the prosocial behavior of children with and without autism, (ii) to analyze if there is a significant difference in the prosociality of children after playing the game in synchronous or asynchronous mode using the defined measure of (i), and (iii) to perform a gender analysis on the prosocial behavior using the measure of (i). After an extensive literature review, two behavioral tests were defined that measure the sharing behavior (Stickers-Game) and the cooperative behavior (Ducks-Feeding-Game) of children. The analysis showed no significant difference in the sharing and cooperative behavior of children who played the synchronous version of the Dragonice game compared to the children of the asynchronous and baseline versions. There were also no significant differences found in the prosocial behavior between boys and girls. Further adaptations are needed to achieve the goal of promoting prosocial behavior with the synchronous version of the game. Moreover, future research can explore the effect of the improved Dragonice game on children with ASC. This research has promising implications for creating a more inclusive environment and positively impacting both children with autism and society.