Virtual Reality versus Abstimmungsbüchlein : an empirical study on political decision-making in Switzerland

What impact does Virtual Reality (VR) have on political decision-making? By means of a 2 (format: VR vs. text) x 2 (argumentation: pro vs. con) between-subject factorial experiment, we assessed participants’ voting outcomes on a fictitious initiative. Participants (N=175) first cast their vote with the traditional Swiss voting booklet. Next, participants were randomly assigned to either a VR or text stimulus (Swiss voting booklet) containing the same pro- or con-arguments. Finally, they could adjust their previously cast vote, if they wished. The presentation mode has an effect on participants’ voting outcomes. For both, the pro and con VR scenarios, participants show an increase of YES votes, in favor of the presented initiative. These findings are reflected in the retrospective think aloud interviews conducted after the experiment. With this research, we hope to further shed light on how VR could be leveraged for the benefit of society in the political decisionmaking domain.