Abstract
This study investigated a sense of being together in a virtual environment by measuring reaction times and event-related potentials in the social Simon paradigm (Sebanz et al, 2003, Cognition, 88, B11–B21). A pair of participants in different rooms observed the same virtual environment through head-mounted displays and performed social Simon task. In one condition, the participants had a 3-min session to interact with their co-actor in the virtual environment before the start of the experimental session and could see a co-actor’s avatar throughout the session. In the other condition, the participants also could see a co-actor’s avatar but did not have time to interact with their co-actor. Results provide behavioral and neurophysiological evidence that the participants in the former condition felt a sense of being together with their partner in the virtual environment.
