Physiological Data Collection to Detect Emotional State During XR Experiences: A Pilot Study in Military Education

Virtual and Extended Reality (VR/XR) is used to facilitate education in many disciplines, given its possibility to deliver engaging and immersive contents that can induce empathetic reactions, thus optimize learning. Usually, the emotional changes related to XR experiences are assessed through qualitative tools, such as questionnaires, that however do not provide real time objective measures. Physiological indexes such as Skin Conductance and Heart Rate offer an alternative, being associated with stress response, emotional arousals, and empathy. The goal of this pilot study was to assess whether Electrodermal Activity and Photoplethysmography can detect emotional state and empathy changes in the specific context of teaching civilians protection in the military setting. We collected physiological data of 15 subjects undergoing a lecture introducing the topic, followed by a VR-embodiment/360° video session where they embodied a civilian victim and the perpetrator of violence, an interactive dialog with a perpetrator and a collaborative VR-map session. Preliminary results show differences in both the tonic and phasic electrodermal activity across different conditions, suggesting that physiological indexes can help understanding the emotions associated with immersive training activities.