Leiden University Student Repository

Richardson, Denisha (2025)

The Impact of Virtual Reality Museum Exhibitions on Adolescents' Attitudes

Master thesis | Psychology (MSc)

Background: Over the years, museums have upheld a colonial perspective where Black people are displayed in inferior roles in exhibitions. This study aimed to examine the impact of a Virtual Reality (VR) Exhibition HERE: Black in Rembrandt’s Time on influencing adolescent perceptions of Black people in the visual arts. Methods: A quasi-experimental study was conducted with 25 high school students. Before experiencing the VR exhibition, adolescents filled out two questionnaires (pretest) to gauge their preferences for Black art in museums and their views on the representation of Black people in Dutch museums. Following the VR exhibition, participants were emailed the same questionnaires (posttest) to track any changes in their preferences and views one week later. Results: Participants included more paintings of color at posttest (p > .05); Participants had changed views in representation of Black people at posttest (p > .05). Conclusion: These findings suggest that exposure to...Show moreBackground: Over the years, museums have upheld a colonial perspective where Black people are displayed in inferior roles in exhibitions. This study aimed to examine the impact of a Virtual Reality (VR) Exhibition HERE: Black in Rembrandt’s Time on influencing adolescent perceptions of Black people in the visual arts. Methods: A quasi-experimental study was conducted with 25 high school students. Before experiencing the VR exhibition, adolescents filled out two questionnaires (pretest) to gauge their preferences for Black art in museums and their views on the representation of Black people in Dutch museums. Following the VR exhibition, participants were emailed the same questionnaires (posttest) to track any changes in their preferences and views one week later. Results: Participants included more paintings of color at posttest (p > .05); Participants had changed views in representation of Black people at posttest (p > .05). Conclusion: These findings suggest that exposure to positive representations of Black people in the visual arts may positively influence adolescent perceptions of these representations.Show less

Adolescents, Well-being, Perspectives, Virtual Realty, Museums

Author

Richardson, Denisha

Faculty

Faculty of Social & Behavioural Sciences

Specialisation

School Psychology

Supervisors

Rieffe, C

ECTS Credits

20

Language

en