A Day in Their Shoes: Using LLM-Based Perspective-Taking Interactive Fiction to Reduce Stigma Toward Dirty Work

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Yuan, Xiangzhe, Wang, Jiajun, Wan, Qian, Hu, Siying
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Yuan, Xiangzhe
Wang, Jiajun
Wan, Qian
Hu, Siying
author_facet Yuan, Xiangzhe
Wang, Jiajun
Wan, Qian
Hu, Siying
contents Occupations referred to as "dirty work" often face entrenched social stigma, which adversely affects the mental health of workers in these fields and impedes occupational equity. In this study, we propose a novel Interactive Fiction (IF) framework powered by Large Language Models (LLMs) to encourage perspective-taking and reduce biases against these stigmatized yet essential roles. Through an experiment with participants (n = 100) across four such occupations, we observed a significant increase in participants' understanding of these occupations, as well as a high level of empathy and a strong sense of connection to individuals in these roles. Additionally, qualitative interviews with participants (n = 15) revealed that the LLM-based perspective-taking IF enhanced immersion, deepened emotional resonance and empathy toward "dirty work," and allowed participants to experience a sense of professional fulfillment in these occupations. However, participants also highlighted ongoing challenges, such as limited contextual details generated by the LLM and the unintentional reinforcement of existing stereotypes. Overall, our findings underscore that an LLM-based perspective-taking IF framework offers a promising and scalable strategy for mitigating stigma and promoting social equity in marginalized professions.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2505_05786
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle A Day in Their Shoes: Using LLM-Based Perspective-Taking Interactive Fiction to Reduce Stigma Toward Dirty Work
Yuan, Xiangzhe
Wang, Jiajun
Wan, Qian
Hu, Siying
Human-Computer Interaction
Computers and Society
Occupations referred to as "dirty work" often face entrenched social stigma, which adversely affects the mental health of workers in these fields and impedes occupational equity. In this study, we propose a novel Interactive Fiction (IF) framework powered by Large Language Models (LLMs) to encourage perspective-taking and reduce biases against these stigmatized yet essential roles. Through an experiment with participants (n = 100) across four such occupations, we observed a significant increase in participants' understanding of these occupations, as well as a high level of empathy and a strong sense of connection to individuals in these roles. Additionally, qualitative interviews with participants (n = 15) revealed that the LLM-based perspective-taking IF enhanced immersion, deepened emotional resonance and empathy toward "dirty work," and allowed participants to experience a sense of professional fulfillment in these occupations. However, participants also highlighted ongoing challenges, such as limited contextual details generated by the LLM and the unintentional reinforcement of existing stereotypes. Overall, our findings underscore that an LLM-based perspective-taking IF framework offers a promising and scalable strategy for mitigating stigma and promoting social equity in marginalized professions.
title A Day in Their Shoes: Using LLM-Based Perspective-Taking Interactive Fiction to Reduce Stigma Toward Dirty Work
topic Human-Computer Interaction
Computers and Society
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.05786