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Measuring Empathy — User Studies and Reflections on Arrival Space 

From Feeling to Feedback

Designing empathy is one thing; measuring it is another altogether. As I built Arrival Space, I always intended to engender a sense of emotional connection, not just awe at appearances but a more meaningful connection with lived or imagined experience. But how would I ever know if users got it if and when they experienced what the space aimed for? That became the question for this next step: the user study.

Designing the User Study

When it was time to evaluate Arrival Space, I knew I needed an instrument to measure emotional impact without burdening participants. On my professor's recommendation, I looked into the Toronto Empathy Questionnaire (TEQ)—a validated, short instrument specific to affective empathy. Its focus on emotional responsivity and clear language made it ideal for measuring user reaction after an immersive storytelling experience.

After reviewing many versions of the TEQ and empathy-based scales, I created a customized version in Google Forms. This version preserved the integrity of the original with minimal added context to enable respondents to relate it to the Arrival Space experience. You can view the questionnaire here.

Participant recruitment was conducted primarily through social media solicitation. I shared the form on social media, sending it to peers, friends, and classmates, and requested that they complete it and pass it along in their networks. This informal, word-of-mouth method allowed for diverse responses while remaining feasible for a single undergraduate research project.

While the sample size was limited, the process gave me valuable insight into the thoughts and feelings of immersive media consumers after emotionally charged spatial experiences. It also made evident the challenge of eliciting helpful empathy-related feedback without daunting participants.

Writing for PETRA

Apart from conducting the user study, I was also keen to present the work in a more formal academic setting. I was determined to write a two-page paper that would be submitted to the PETRA Conference (Pervasive Technologies Related to Assistive Environments), an event committed to interdisciplinary innovation in HCI, assistive technology, and immersive computing.

The paper, "Fostering Empathy Through Immersive Storytelling in Virtual Reality Environments," presents Arrival Space as a piece of art, and my goals of design—emotional resonance, accessibility, and verisimilitude—were the foundation of construction and were used to recommend testing. The third section of the article outlined my planned methodology with the Toronto Empathy Questionnaire, observation of behaviour, and follow-up interviews. An empathy design principle-based research system. 

I situated the work in the human-computer interaction (HCI) field, drawing upon past work in affective computing, presence and immersion, and user perspective-taking. The article had outlined my idea for my system: an interactive virtual museum that addressed issues of migration and marginalization, consisting of Scaniverse scans, Sketchfab assets, and ambient spatial storytelling.

My design goals—emotional resonance, accessibility, and verisimilitude—were the foundation of construction and were used to recommend testing. The third section of the article outlined my planned methodology, which included the Toronto Empathy Questionnaire, observation of behavior, and follow-up interviews.

Though preparing the submission was rewarding, it was also challenging. The PETRA format had a strict two-page limit and specific formatting requirements, which meant that I had to carefully trim and reorganize my story and visual materials. Additionally, due to budget constraints, I was unable to attend the conference in person—a common but sad experience for most student researchers.

Nevertheless, writing and submitting forced me to dissect the project's requirements. It brought me from being an artist to thinking more as a researcher, where intention, criticism, and contribution must be clearly asserted. Despite a lack of formal presentation, a submitted paper made Arrival Space legitimate as an immersive work and a foot in the broader conversation around digital empathy.

Roadblocks

The process had its share of setbacks. Some of the most significant challenges included:

• Limited Participant Responses: Despite outreach efforts through social media and word-of-mouth, the number of completed Toronto Empathy Questionnaires remained low, which limited the depth of analysis and generalization of findings.

• Formatting Challenges for PETRA Submission: I completed a full two-page research paper, but could not submit it to PETRA due to a last-minute notice about the required formatting template. Adapting the paper into the official format using LaTeX wasn’t feasible within the remaining time.

• Funding Limitations for Conference Travel: Had the paper been accepted, presenting it would have required international travel to Greece. This cost wasn’t covered by any available student research funding or grants.

These obstacles were sometimes discouraging, but they also offered important lessons about preparation, access, and the realities of conducting independent undergraduate research in immersive media and HCI.

Conclusion

Despite the obstacles, it taught me firsthand how much impact immersive environments can make when created with emotional intent. From creating the Toronto Empathy Questionnaire to writing a research paper, each step shifted my thinking from just creating experiences to understanding how they are experienced, measured, and shared. Even as the official impact was limited by resources and timing, the unofficial lessons were invaluable: empathy doesn't require a perfect beginning to make a difference. It just requires the intention to create space for others' stories—and the courage to keep trying when that space isn't easily found.

In my last blog, I will consider how this project changed my perspective on storytelling, presence, and empathy—not just in virtual space but also in the real world we return to when the headset is removed.