When Does Virtual Embodiment Change Our Minds?

2016 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 222-233 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jakki O. Bailey ◽  
Jeremy N. Bailenson ◽  
Daniel Casasanto
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Visual Feedback ◽  
Arm Movements ◽  
The Body ◽  
Theory Testing ◽  
Body Movements ◽  
Sensory Experiences ◽  
Left And Right ◽  
Visual Motor ◽  
Sensorimotor Feedback

Can an avatar’s body movements change a person’s perception of good and bad? We discuss virtual embodiment according to theories of embodied cognition (EC), and afferent and sensorimotor correspondences. We present an example study using virtual reality (VR) to test EC theory, testing the effect of altered virtual embodiment on perception. Participants either controlled an avatar whose arm movements were similar to their own or reflected the mirror opposite of their arm movements. We measured their associations of “good” and “bad” with the left and right (i.e., space-valence associations). This study demonstrated how VR could be used to examine the possible ways that systems of the body (e.g., visual, motor) may interact to influence cognition. The implications of this research suggest that visual feedback alone is not enough to alter space-valence associations. Multiple sensory experiences of media (i.e., sensorimotor feedback) may be necessary to influence cognition, not simply visual feedback.

scholarly journals Visual self-motion feedback affects the sense of self in virtual reality

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aubrieann Schettler ◽  
Ian Holstead ◽  
John Turri ◽  
Michael Barnett-Cowan
Keyword(s):  
Body Image ◽  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Visual Feedback ◽  
Sense Of Self ◽  
Body Schema ◽  
The Body ◽  
The Self ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Biological Sex ◽  
Self Motion

AbstractWe assessed how self-motion affects the visual representation of the self. We constructed a novel virtual reality experiment that systematically varied an avatar’s motion and also biological sex. Participants were presented with pairs of avatars that visually represented the participant (“self avatar”), or another person (“opposite avatar”). Avatar motion either corresponded with the participant’s motion, or was decoupled from the participant’s motion. The results show that participants identified with i) “self avatars” over “opposite avatars”, ii) avatars moving congruently with self-motion over incongruent motion, and importantly iii) identification with the “opposite avatar” over the “self avatar” when the opposite avatar’s motion was congruent with self-motion. Our results suggest that both self-motion and biological sex are relevant to the body schema and body image and that congruent bottom-up visual feedback of self-motion is particularly important for the sense of self and capable of overriding top-down self-identification factors such as biological sex.

scholarly journals Modified sensory feedback enhances the sense of agency during continuous body movements in virtual reality

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kei Aoyagi ◽  
Wen Wen ◽  
Qi An ◽  
Shunsuke Hamasaki ◽  
Hiroshi Yamakawa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Motor Control ◽  
Actual Body ◽  
Visual Feedback ◽  
Sense Of Agency ◽  
Virtual Object ◽  
Hand Position ◽  
Body Movements ◽  
Continuous Body ◽  
Target Experiment

AbstractThe sense of agency refers to the feeling of control over one’s own actions, and through them, the external events. This study examined the effect of modified visual feedback on the sense of agency over one’s body movements using virtual reality in healthy individuals whose motor control was disturbed. Participants moved a virtual object using their right hand to trace a trajectory (Experiment 1) or a leading target (Experiment 2). Their motor control was disturbed by a delay in visual feedback (Experiment 1) or a 1-kg weight attached to their wrist (Experiment 2). In the offset conditions, the virtual object was presented at the median point between the desired position and the participants’ actual hand position. In both experiments, participants reported improved sense of agency in the offset condition compared to the aligned condition where the visual feedback reflected their actual body movements, despite their motion being less precise in the offset condition. The results show that sense of agency can be enhanced by modifying feedback to motor tasks according to the goal of the task, even when visual feedback is discrepant from the actual body movements. The present study sheds light on the possibility of artificially enhancing body agency to improve voluntary motor control.

scholarly journals Using visuo-kinetic virtual reality to induce illusory spinal movement: the MoOVi Illusion

PeerJ ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. e3023 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel S. Harvie ◽  
Ross T. Smith ◽  
Estin V. Hunter ◽  
Miles G. Davis ◽  
Michele Sterling ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Visual Feedback ◽  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Body Position ◽  
Head Rotation ◽  
The Body ◽  
Spinal Movement ◽  
Body Reference ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Virtual Body

BackgroundIllusions that alter perception of the body provide novel opportunities to target brain-based contributions to problems such as persistent pain. One example of this, mirror therapy, uses vision to augment perceived movement of a painful limb to treat pain. Since mirrors can’t be used to induce augmented neck or other spinal movement, we aimed to test whether such an illusion could be achieved using virtual reality, in advance of testing its potential therapeutic benefit. We hypothesised that perceived head rotation would depend on visually suggested movement.MethodIn a within-subjects repeated measures experiment, 24 healthy volunteers performed neck movements to 50oof rotation, while a virtual reality system delivered corresponding visual feedback that was offset by a factor of 50%–200%—the Motor Offset Visual Illusion (MoOVi)—thus simulating more or less movement than that actually occurring. At 50oof real-world head rotation, participants pointed in the direction that they perceived they were facing. The discrepancy between actual and perceived direction was measured and compared between conditions. The impact of including multisensory (auditory and visual) feedback, the presence of a virtual body reference, and the use of 360oimmersive virtual reality with and without three-dimensional properties, was also investigated.ResultsPerception of head movement was dependent on visual-kinaesthetic feedback (p = 0.001, partial eta squared = 0.17). That is, altered visual feedback caused a kinaesthetic drift in the direction of the visually suggested movement. The magnitude of the drift was not moderated by secondary variables such as the addition of illusory auditory feedback, the presence of a virtual body reference, or three-dimensionality of the scene.DiscussionVirtual reality can be used to augment perceived movement and body position, such that one can perform a small movement, yet perceive a large one. The MoOVi technique tested here has clear potential for assessment and therapy of people with spinal pain.

scholarly journals Visual Self-Motion Feedback Affects the Sense of Self in Virtual Reality

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Aubrieann Schettler ◽  
Ian Holstead ◽  
John Turri ◽  
Michael Barnett-Cowan
Keyword(s):  
Body Image ◽  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Visual Feedback ◽  
Sense Of Self ◽  
Body Schema ◽  
The Body ◽  
The Self ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Biological Sex ◽  
Self Motion

Abstract We assessed how self-motion affects the visual representation of the self. We constructed a novel virtual-reality experiment that systematically varied an avatar’s motion and also biological sex. Participants were presented with pairs of avatars that visually represented the participant (‘self-avatar’), or another person (‘opposite avatar’). Avatar motion either corresponded with the participant’s motion, or was decoupled from the participant’s motion. The results show that participants identified with (i) ‘self-avatars’ over ‘opposite-avatars’, (ii) avatars moving congruently with self-motion over incongruent motion, and importantly (iii) with the ‘opposite avatar’ over the ‘self-avatar’ when the opposite avatar’s motion was congruent with self-motion. Our results suggest that both self-motion and biological sex are relevant to the body schema and body image and that congruent bottom-up visual feedback of self-motion is particularly important for the sense of self and capable of overriding top-down self-identification factors such as biological sex.

scholarly journals Want to gain height? How body motion makes you taller.

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Markus Koppensteiner ◽  
Pia Stephan ◽  
Johannes PM Jäschke
Keyword(s):  
Personality Traits ◽  
Body Height ◽  
Arm Movements ◽  
The Body ◽  
Body Motion ◽  
Direct Impact ◽  
Body Movements ◽  
Motion Cues ◽  
Actual Stimulus ◽  
Independent Rating

Body height and expansiveness of body motion both affect perceived dominance and status. We investigated whether expansiveness of body motion also has a direct impact on perceptions of height. For two independent rating experiments we turned the body movements of politicians giving a speech into short clips of animated stick-figures. In experiment one, participants judged these stimuli on dominance, trustworthiness, and competence. In experiment two participants assessed the stick-figures’ heights. Perceptions of stick-figure heights were related to ratings of dominance even after controlling for actual stimulus height. We concluded that perceived height was influenced by motion cues. Detailed analyses of hand and torso movements revealed that expansive vertical arm movements made our stimuli appear taller. In conclusion, our findings indicate that motion cues do not only affect attributions of personality traits but also distort perceptions of physiognomic features such as body height.

Creating the Wind

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 14-31
Author(s):  
Élodie Dupey García
Keyword(s):  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
The Body ◽  
Historical Sources ◽  
Natural Behavior ◽  
Sensory Experiences ◽  
Identity And Agency ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Late Postclassic ◽  
Comparative Examination ◽  
Meteorological Phenomenon

This article explores how the Nahua of late Postclassic Mesoamerica (1200–1521 CE) created living and material embodiments of their wind god constructed on the basis of sensory experiences that shaped their conception of this divinized meteorological phenomenon. In this process, they employed chromatic and design devices, based on a wide range of natural elements, to add several layers of meaning to the human, painted, and sculpted supports dressed in the god’s insignia. Through a comparative examination of pre-Columbian visual production—especially codices and sculptures—historical sources mainly written in Nahuatl during the viceregal period, and ethnographic data on indigenous communities in modern Mexico, my analysis targets the body paint and shell jewelry of the anthropomorphic “images” of the wind god, along with the Feathered Serpent and the monkey-inspired embodiments of the deity. This study identifies the centrality of other human senses beyond sight in the conception of the wind god and the making of its earthly manifestations. Constructing these deity “images” was tantamount to creating the wind because they were intended to be visual replicas of the wind’s natural behavior. At the same time, they referred to the identity and agency of the wind god in myths and rituals.

Developmental stages in the Digenea

Parasitology ◽  
1964 ◽  
Vol 54 (2) ◽  
pp. 295-312 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elon E. Byrd ◽  
William P. Maples
Keyword(s):  
Body Wall ◽  
Developmental Stages ◽  
Snail Host ◽  
The Body ◽  
Body Movements ◽  
Hatching Enzyme ◽  
Apical Papilla ◽  
Short Time ◽  
Membranous Body ◽  
Egg Capsule

The naturally oviposited egg of Dasymetra conferta is fully embryonated and it hatches only after it is ingested by the snail host, Physa spp.Hatching appears to be in response to some stimulus supplied by the living snail. The stimulus causes the larva to exercise a characteristic series of body movements and to liberate a granular sustance (hatching enzyme) from the larger pair of its cephalic glands. This enzyme reacts with the vitelline fluid to create pressure within the egg capsule, and with the cementum of the operculum, so that it may be lifted away. The larva's escape from the shell, therefore, is due to a combination of pressure and body movements.The hatched larva has a membranous body wall, supporting six epidermal plates, an apical papilla, two penetration glands and a central matrix (the presumptive brood mass).It lives for about an hour within the snail and during this time there is a reorganization of the central matrix which terminates in the formation of an 8-nucleated syncytial brood mass.The miracidial ‘case’, consisting of the body wall and the epidermal plates, ultimately ruptures to liberate the brood mass. Once the brood mass is free it penetrates through the gut wall in an incredibly short time.

Psychophysiological Markers of Performance and Learning during Simulated Marksmanship in Immersive Virtual Reality

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Sicong Liu ◽  
Jillian M. Clements ◽  
Elayna P. Kirsch ◽  
Hrishikesh M. Rao ◽  
David J. Zielinski ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Motor Control ◽  
Response Times ◽  
Immersive Virtual Reality ◽  
Test Bed ◽  
Beta Band ◽  
Neuroscience Research ◽  
Visual Motor ◽  
Behavioral Mechanisms ◽  
Visual Evoked

Abstract The fusion of immersive virtual reality, kinematic movement tracking, and EEG offers a powerful test bed for naturalistic neuroscience research. Here, we combined these elements to investigate the neuro-behavioral mechanisms underlying precision visual–motor control as 20 participants completed a three-visit, visual–motor, coincidence-anticipation task, modeled after Olympic Trap Shooting and performed in immersive and interactive virtual reality. Analyses of the kinematic metrics demonstrated learning of more efficient movements with significantly faster hand RTs, earlier trigger response times, and higher spatial precision, leading to an average of 13% improvement in shot scores across the visits. As revealed through spectral and time-locked analyses of the EEG beta band (13–30 Hz), power measured prior to target launch and visual-evoked potential amplitudes measured immediately after the target launch correlate with subsequent reactive kinematic performance in the shooting task. Moreover, both launch-locked and shot/feedback-locked visual-evoked potentials became earlier and more negative with practice, pointing to neural mechanisms that may contribute to the development of visual–motor proficiency. Collectively, these findings illustrate EEG and kinematic biomarkers of precision motor control and changes in the neurophysiological substrates that may underlie motor learning.

scholarly journals Study of Second and Fourth Digit Lengths and Their Ratios With Physical Attributes in Nepali Population

2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 78-81
Author(s):  
Biswas Satyal ◽  
Abhishek Satyal
Keyword(s):  
Ring Finger ◽  
The Body ◽  
Behavioral Traits ◽  
Digit Ratios ◽  
Hand Deformities ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Physical Attributes ◽  
Physical Traits ◽  
Left And Right ◽  
Males And Females

Introduction: The ratio of the lengths of the index and the ring finger (2D:4D ratio) is generally different between men and women. A number of studies have shown a correlation between the 2D:4D digit ratio and various physical and behavioral traits. The aim of the present study is to investigate the association of the index (2nd) and ring (4th) digit ratios with some physical traits in Nepal population. Material & Method: 200 students (100 males and 100 females) between ages of 18 years and above were randomly selected with exclusion of those with hand deformities. The digit lengths were measured from the basal crease to the tips usingvernier calipers. The 2D:4D ratios were determined for each subject while height and weight were used to calculate the body mass index and data analyzed. The study was conducted between January 2018 to November 2018. Result: The result of the anthropometric study of the differences in index (2D) and ring (4D) and their ratios shows that there was a significant difference between the length of index finger (2D), ring finger (4D) and the ratios of right hand's 2D:4D in both males and females. There was appositive correlation between the second digit length and Height and weight in males and females both on right and left sides. The 2D:4D ratio for both left and right hand did not show any positive correlation with height, weight or BMI of an individual.

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