In 2003, an article written for Australian psychologist examined the importance of using humane education programs to increase empathy and prosocial behaviors in children (Thompson and Gullone). These programs utilized introducing children to non-human mammals, so they can better understand the needs of other. The proposed game, Four Paws: Training a Service animal, aims to act as a humane education virtual reality game. In this game, children will foster an animal, who will be trained to assist a mentally or physically disabled individual. It was found in a 2009 study, at Simon Fraser University, that when children play human-animal interactive games, like Nintendogs, there is an increase in empathy and compassion for others (Y.-F. L. Tsai and Kaufman). The researchers also found in a follow up study in 2014 that when a child is focused on a common goal with the animal, there is an increase in the understanding of the needs of others (Y.-F. (Lily) Tsai and Kaufman). The use of the service animal in this game is to act as a way to connect students to those who may not be like themselves. In Denise Gigante’s “Facing the Ugly: The Case of “Frankenstein””, she notes that it was not until the creature came to life that Victor becomes uncomfortable and began obsessing about how different the creature was from humans, although he was made of human parts and had not physically changed since becoming reanimated. It was not until Victor saw the constricted and limited movement of the creature that he began to fear the creature, who was similar to him but was not able bodied. Through this game, children will be given the opportunity to help those unlike themselves and gain altruistic behaviors. The benefits of this type of game can go beyond the classroom community and potentially into the everyday life of the player as they develop the skills to relate to others and their needs.
Thompson, Kelly L. .., and Eleonora1 Gullone e. gullone@med. monash. edu. a. “Promotion of Empathy and Prosocial Behaviour in Children through Humane Education.” Australian Psychologist, vol. 38, no. 3, Nov. 2003, pp. 175–82.
Tsai, Yueh-Feng (Lily), and David Kaufman. “Interacting with a Computer-Simulated Pet: Factors Influencing Children’s Humane Attitudes and Empathy.” Journal of Educational Computing Research, vol. 51, no. 2, Sept. 2014, p. 145.
Tsai, Yueh-Feng Lily, and David M. Kaufman. “The Socioemotional Effects of a Computer-Simulated Animal on Children’s Empathy and Humane Attitudes.” Journal of Educational Computing Research, vol. 41, no. 1, Jan. 2009, pp. 103–22. Baywood Publishing Company, Inc. 26 Austin Avenue, P.O. Box 337, Amityville, NY 11701. Tel: 800-638-7819; Tel: 631-691-1270; Fax: 631-691-1770; e-mail: info@baywood.com; Web site: http://baywood.com.