Minimal Impact of Tangible Objects on Body Ownership Transfer in Immersive Virtual Reality

Abstract

Researchers have discussed the impact of tactile stimuli on the embodiment within virtual reality environments. We conducted experiments under conditions akin to the rubber hand illusion, where tactile stimuli are known to enhance illusory bodily awareness, within an immersive virtual reality setting. Participants were required to touch spheres that appeared randomly under two conditions: with and without tactile stimulation. The condition incorporating tactile stimuli provided cotton balls at locations that were spatially congruent with the virtual spheres. Although we anticipated that tactile stimulation would enhance embodiment, no significant differences in reported embodiment were observed between conditions with and without tactile objects. The results imply that when visual stimuli alone are sufficient to generate embodiment, tactile stimuli do not significantly affect embodiment.