One Format Fits All?

Sensory Sensitivity and AI-generated Cyberbullying Narratives: A Study Protocol

Authors

  • S.M. Francisco Lusófona University, Portugal
  • C. Pires Lusófona University, Portugal
  • V. Pereira Lusófona University, Portugal
  • P. Paulino Lusófona University, Portugal
  • T. Souto Lusófona University, Portugal
  • A. Rodrigues Lusófona University, Portugal
  • P. Gamito Lusófona University, Portugal
  • J. Oliveira Lusófona University, Portugal

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54337/aau.icdvrat26.03

Abstract

Sensory Processing Sensitivity (SPS), a temperamental trait affecting 20–30% of adults, shapes how individuals perceive and react to environmental stimuli. As AI-generated immersive content becomes increasingly common in digital interventions, it remains unknown whether format choices interact with SPS to modulate emotional response. This paper presents the protocol of a planned experimental study comparing audio podcasts and expressive virtual humans in a cyberbullying narrative intervention. Findings will offer the empirical groundwork for sensitivity-informed design of AI-mediated interventions, a prerequisite before content can be meaningfully personalised to distinct sensory profiles.

References

Acevedo, BP, Aron, EN, Aron, A, Sangster, MD, Collins, N, and Brown, LL, (2014), The highly sensitive brain: an fMRI study of sensory processing sensitivity and response to others' emotions, Brain and Behavior, 4(4), 580–594. https://doi.org/10.1002/brb3.242

Aron, EN, and Aron, A, (1997), Sensory-processing sensitivity and its relation to introversion and emotionality, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73(2), 345–368. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.73.2.345

Bandura, A, (1999), Moral disengagement in the perpetration of inhumanities, Personality and Social Psychology Review, 3(3), 193–209. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327957pspr0303_3

Francisco, SM, Ferreira, PC, Veiga Simão, AM, and Pereira, NS, (2023), Measuring empathy online and moral disengagement in cyberbullying, Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1061482. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1061482

Francisco, S, Gamito, P, and Oliveira, J, (2025), Cyberbullying Podcasts: A new methodology for fostering empathy and reducing moral disengagement, World Anti-Bullying Forum (WABF 2025), Stavanger, Norway.

Gratch, J, Wang, N, Okhmatovskaia, A, Lamothe, F, Morales, M, van der Werf, RJ, and Morency, LP, (2007), Can virtual humans be more engaging than real ones?, in Jacko, JA (ed.), Human-Computer Interaction. HCI Intelligent Multimodal Interaction Environments, Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol. 4552, Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, pp. 286–297. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-73110-8_30

Lionetti, F, Aron, A, Aron, EN, Burns, GL, Jagiellowicz, J, and Pluess, M, (2018), Dandelions, tulips and orchids: evidence for the existence of low-sensitive, medium-sensitive and high-sensitive individuals, Translational Psychiatry, 8(1), 24. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-017-0090-6

Pluess, M, (2015), Individual differences in environmental sensitivity, Child Development Perspectives, 9(3), 138–143. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdep.12120

Pluess, M, Aron, EN, Kähkönen, JE, Lionetti, F, Huang, Y, Tillmann, T, Greven, C, and Aron, A, (2024), Evolution of the concept of sensitivity and its measurement: the Highly Sensitive Person Scale-Revised, PsyArXiv preprint. https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/w7bqu

Roxburgh, EC, (2023), “It’s like feeling and experiencing everything in HD”: An interpretative phenomenological analysis of sensory processing sensitivity, The Humanistic Psychologist, 51(4), 377–396. https://doi.org/10.1037/hum0000297

Downloads

Published

14-09-2026

How to Cite

Francisco, S., Pires, C., Pereira, V., Paulino, P., Souto, T., Rodrigues, A., … Oliveira, J. (2026). One Format Fits All? Sensory Sensitivity and AI-generated Cyberbullying Narratives: A Study Protocol. Proceedings of the International Conference on Disability, Virtual Reality & Associated Technologies. https://doi.org/10.54337/aau.icdvrat26.03