A Virtual Reality Application of the Rubber Hand Illusion Induced by Ultrasonic Mid-Air Haptic Stimulation

Ultrasonic mid-air haptic technologies, which provide haptic feedback through airwaves produced using ultrasound, could be employed to investigate the sense of body ownership and immersion in virtual reality (VR) by inducing the virtual hand illusion (VHI). Ultrasonic mid-air haptic perception has solely been investigated for glabrous (hairless) skin, which has higher tactile sensitivity than hairy skin. In contrast, the VHI paradigm typically targets hairy skin without comparisons to glabrous skin. The aim of this article was to investigate illusory body ownership, the applicability of ultrasonic mid-air haptics, and perceived immersion in VR using the VHI. Fifty participants viewed a virtual hand being stroked by a feather synchronously and asynchronously with the ultrasonic stimulation applied to the glabrous skin on the palmar surface and the hairy skin on the dorsal surface of their hands. Questionnaire responses revealed that synchronous stimulation induced a stronger VHI than asynchronous stimulation. In synchronous conditions, the VHI was stronger for palmar stimulation than dorsal stimulation. The ultrasonic stimulation was also perceived as more intense on the palmar surface compared to the dorsal surface. Perceived immersion was not related to illusory body ownership per se but was enhanced by the provision of synchronous stimulation

Body Perception and Emotion within Clinical Eating Disorders and Non-Clinical Eating Disorder Psychopathology

Discontent towards one’s own body has become increasingly prevalent within Western culture, with greater body dissatisfaction implicated with higher risk of disordered eating. Specifically, aberrant eating attitudes and behaviours are associated with disturbances in one’s body image, which comprises the conscious representation of the body based on its perceptual, cognitive and affective evaluations. The present thesis investigates the role of sensory signals within body perception and its relationship with bodily emotions in the context of body image. This is investigated within clinical eating disorder populations, and in relation to eating disorder psychopathology within the non-clinical population. Chapter 2 investigates the role of perceptual and cognitive-affective components of body image within eating disorder groups, revealing an increased malleability of body perception accompanied by lower explicit and implicit body satisfaction compared with healthy controls. Chapter 3 explores how bodies are represented neurally in the Extrastriate Body Area amongst healthy females, in which patterns of response within this region were modulated by the interactive effect of visual perspective and body morphology. Chapter 4 further highlights the importance of visual perspective within body representation, showing that subjective embodiment towards a whole mannequin body can be induced from mere visual capture of congruent visuoproprioceptive signals when viewed from a first-person visual perspective. Chapter 5 explores the role of affective touch towards whole body ownership, with no enhancing effect of embodiment shown due to the interoceptive properties of affective touch. Finally, Chapter 6 assesses the psychometric properties of the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire in the non-clinical population, to suggest that this measure may require reassessment in accordance with updated symptomology. Together, the present thesis uses diverse experimental methods to explore the perceptual and cognitive-affective components of body image, providing new insights into the way in which such components are investigated which can be used to inform future work within this research topic

Playing With Embodied Social Interaction : A Thematic Review of Experiments on Social Aspects in Gameful Virtual Reality

Revision Published: 11 May 2022Recently, there has been a burgeoning of immersive virtual reality (VR) applications in a variety of shapes, including gameful social VR. Despite a longstanding tradition of studying social factors in gameful computing, this perspective in the specific experiences of VR is only gaining traction. This highly multidisciplinary area of interest is immensely complex with potential consequences on individuals and social groups alike. To aid in constituting and systematizing this area of research from the early days, this paper explores 14 state-of-art publications on experimental research of social aspects in gameful VR. These were analysed predominantly based on the included manipulations and the studied outcomes resulting in the extraction of five and seven thematic wholes, respectively. Finally, based on the findings, four broad avenues to consider were emphasized as suggested paths for a comprehensive future of embodied gameful social VR application and research across a variety of disciplines.Peer reviewe

All it takes is empathy:how virtual reality perspective-taking influences intergroup attitudes and stereotypes

Research in the past decade has demonstrated the potential of virtual reality perspective-taking (VRPT) to reduce bias against salient outgroups. In the perspective-taking literature, both affective and cognitive mechanisms have been theorized and identified as plausible pathways to prejudice reduction. Few studies have systematically compared affective and cognitive mediators, especially in relation to virtual reality, a medium posited to produce visceral, affective experiences. The present study seeks to extend current research on VRPT’s mechanisms by comparing empathy (affective) and situational attributions (cognitive) as dual mediators influencing intergroup attitudes (affective) and stereotypes (cognitive). In a between-subjects experiment, 84 participants were randomly assigned to embody a VR ingroup or outgroup waiting staff at a local food establishment, interacting with an impolite ingroup customer. Results indicated that participants in the outgroup VRPT condition reported significantly more positive attitudes and stereotypes towards outgroup members than those in the ingroup VRPT condition. For both attitudes and stereotypes, empathy significantly mediated the effect of VRPT, but situational attributions did not. Findings from this research provide support for affect as a key component of virtual experiences and how they shape intergroup perceptions. Implications and directions for further research are discussed

Effects of prolonged exposure to feedback delay on the qualitative subjective experience of virtual reality

When interacting with virtual environments, feedback delays between making a movement and seeing the visual consequences of that movement are detrimental for the subjective quality of the VR experience. Here we used standard measures of subjective experiences such as ownership, agency and presence to investigate whether prolonged exposure to the delay, and thus the possibility to adapt to it, leads to the recovery of the qualitative experience of VR. Participants performed a target-tracking task in a Virtual Reality environment. We measured the participants' tracking performance in terms of spatial and temporal errors with respect to the target in both No-Delay and Delay conditions. Additionally, participants rated their sense of ``ownership'' of holding a virtual tool, agency and presence on each trial using sliding scales. These single trial ratings were compared to the results of the more traditional questionnaires for ownership and agency and presence for both No-Delay and Delay conditions. We found that the participants' sliding scales ratings corresponded very well to the scores obtained from the traditional questionnaires. Moreover, not only did participants behaviourally adapt to the delay, their ratings of ownership and agency significantly improved with prolonged exposure to the delay. Together the results suggest a tight link between the ability to perform a behavioural task and the subjective ratings of ownership and agency in virtual reality

The use of virtual reality in studying prejudice and its reduction : A systematic review

Peer reviewe

The Relationship Between Sensorimotor Integration and Social Processing

To interact with the physical world, the brain must integrate information across multiple sensory and motor domains to create a stable representation of the body. Crucially, it is the effective integration of visual, tactile, proprioceptive, and motor information which creates the experience of a bodily self. The embodied cognition framework proposes that important social processes such as self-awareness, perspective-taking, and interpersonal synchrony are grounded within the bodily self. Thus, exploring the links between the senses, the body, and social processes can elucidate how humans interact, understand each other, and move in time with each other. Research investigating why certain populations show differences in how they socially interact can shed further light on the contribution of sensorimotor integration in social processing. Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by differences in social interaction, communication, and sensory processing. Research suggests that sensory processing differences may account for the characteristic differences in social behaviour in autism. However, the exact relationship between sensorimotor integration and social processing is not fully understood. This thesis aimed to investigate the relationship between sensorimotor integration and social processing in autistic and non-autistic individuals. Chapter 2 found evidence to suggest that an internal representation of the body, built upon multisensory integration may be implicated in self-referential processing in non-autistic adults. Chapter 3 found evidence that whilst autistic adults exhibit self-referential processing it may not be related to sensorimotor integration and the body schema. These findings suggest that whilst non-autistic self-conceptualisation is intertwined with body representations, autistic self-conceptualisation may not. Chapter 4 found that altering the experience of self-location did not impact visual perspective-taking performance in non-autistic adults. Moreover, visuo-proprioceptive-motor integration was not found to relate to the ability to take another person’s perspective. This finding elucidates the role of sensorimotor integration and internal representations of the body in visual perspective-taking. Chapter 5 found that sensorimotor and joint action processes facilitate interpersonal synchrony and subsequent social bonding in typically developing children and adults. Importantly, these findings suggest that sensorimotor processes are key for developing the ability to move in time with another person and benefit from subsequent social bonding. Chapter 6 found that autistic adults experience sensory fluctuations across multiple modalities and that these sensory differences have a significant impact on their daily lives, including social well-being. Together, the present thesis evidences the intertwined relationship between internal representations of the body, sensorimotor integration, and how we understand and interact with others. Importantly, it also demonstrates the crucial roles of multisensory experience, and body representation, in the mental, physical, and social well-being of autistic adults