Researchers conducted a virtual-reality study where they discovered that humans can experience empathic embarrassment when they see robots going through embarrassing situations. The study published in the journal Scientific Reports used a combination of subjective ratings and physiological measurements to assess the level to which humans feel empathic embarrassment towards robots. Empathic embarrassment refers to the ability to share in the emotional experience of someone else’s embarrassment. To do this, the researchers placed participants in a series of virtual environments where both human and robotic avatars went through situations that were mildly embarrassing or non-embarrassing. The situations were designed to elicit feelings of mistake or discomfort towards robots, according to Toyohashi University of Technology. Two dimensions of empathy were investigated—empathic embarrassment and cognitive empathy.