Effects of Transformation Patterns in Virtual Embodiment on Sense of Body Transformation, Sense of Body Ownership, and Sense of Agency

Abstract

Virtual embodiment refers to the feeling of being present in a virtual environment with owning a virtual body (avatar) that replaces or extends the physical body. In this study, we investigated the effects of appearance transformation processes on virtual embodiment in the transformation from one avatar to another. We used three types of the transformation processes: a Cut process, in which the avatar transforms instantly and discontinuously, a Linear process, in which the avatar transforms gradually according to a linear function, and a Smooth process, in which the avatar transforms smoothly according to a smoothstep function. Participants answered an embodiment questionnaire before and after the transformation and the feeling of posttransformation sensations on a 7-point Likert scale. The results showed that the Linear process had the highest sense of body transformation, followed by the Smooth process, and the Cut process had the least sense of body transformation, and that the sense of body ownership or agency was not affected by the type of transformation.