Work-In-Progress—Exponenself: Exploring and Strengthening Cultural Identity from Virtual Reality to Reality

Abstract

This Work-In-Progress introduces Exponenself. It is a virtual reality (VR) platform designed to help individuals in exploring and strengthening their identity through embodied self-dialogue. This tool has the potential to help reduce the risk of mental health issues, particularly among Asian Americans who may face racial/cultural identity crises, as well as experiencing a lack of safe spaces to process microaggressions. Through self-dialogue sessions, users can take on different roles, including therapist, past self, and parent, to facilitate identity development and cultural heritage preservation. The design of Exponenself is grounded in the assumptions that role-playing games can provide a safe and immersive space for individuals to explore their identity through avatar creation, and that self-dialogue, especially with avatars that resemble oneself, can be advantageous for identity development. Exponenself is intended to serve as a preventative and educational tool before therapy sessions and a companion and maintenance tool after treatment. Its
underlying principles are based on the theories of perspective taking [1], Solomon's paradox [2], the Proteus effect [3], and the Empty Chair Technique [4]. The use of avatars and non-player characters (NPCs) to facilitate identity talk in VR aims to help users build internal confidence and resilience to manage real-life challenges and increase understanding and appreciation of cultural diversity. By offering a safe and engaging space for users to explore their identity and cultural heritage, Exponenself has the potential to aid in reducing mental health risks and to provide support to those who may not have access to safe spaces for processing microaggressions.