Body size illusions influence perceived size of objects: a validation of previous research in virtual reality
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ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Body size illusions influence perceived size of objects: a validation of previous research in virtual reality Stefan Weber1,2 · Fred W. Mast1 · David Weibel1 Received: 1 October 2018 / Accepted: 22 August 2019 © Springer-Verlag London Ltd., part of Springer Nature 2019
Abstract Previous research indicates that the size of the own body affects the judgment of objects’ size, depending on the amount of subjective ownership toward the body (Van der Hoort et al. in PLOS ONE 6(5):e20195, 2011). We are the first to transfer this own-body-size effect into a virtual environment. In a series of three experiments, participants (N = 68) had to embody small, medium, and large avatars and judge the size of objects. Body ownership was manipulated using synchronous and asynchronous touch. We also included a new paradigm with an additional change of perspective to induce stronger ownership (Experiment 2). Additionally, we assessed whether the visibility of the body during the judgment phase influenced the results (Experiment 3). In all three experiments, we found an overestimation in a small and an underestimation in a large body compared to a medium body. However, size estimation did not depend on the degree of ownership despite clear differences in self-reported ownership. Our results show that a virtual reality scenario does not require a visuotactile manipulation of ownership in order to evoke the own-body-size effect. Our validation of the effect in a virtual setting may be helpful for the design of clinical applications. Keywords Own-body-size effect · Ownership · Virtual reality · Size perception · Embodiment · Avatars
1 Introduction The size of our body serves as a reference frame to the perception of our world (Harris et al. 2015; Proffitt and Linkenauger 2013). The influence of the body on mental processes is generally referred to as embodied cognition (Wilson 2002). In popular culture, the impact of shrinking humans to the size of insects has been considered numerous times (e.g., in the movie Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and its sequels; Cox and Johnston Cox and Johnston 1999). The question whether such a transformation of the physical size of the own body would affect the perception of the environment was investigated in a series of pioneering experiments by Van der Hoort and colleagues (Van der Hoort et al. 2011; Van der Hoort and Ehrsson 2014, 2016). Using an arrangement of cameras capturing artificial bodies and projecting * Stefan Weber [email protected] 1
Institute of Psychology, University of Bern, Fabrikstrasse 8, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
Swiss Distance Learning University, Überlandstrasse 12, P.O. Box 265, 3900 Brig, Switzerland
2
the video feed onto participant’s goggles, the participants had the feeling of being inside the body of dolls of various sizes (i.e., they had a feeling of body ownership; cf. De Vignemont 2011). The sensation of ownership resulted in an altered estimation of object sizes. In the present study, we provide a first-time replication of these experiment
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