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The role of affective touch in whole-body embodiment remains equivocal

Carey, M; Crucianelli, L; Preston, C; Fotopoulou, A; (2021) The role of affective touch in whole-body embodiment remains equivocal. Consciousness and Cognition , 87 , Article 103059. 10.1016/j.concog.2020.103059. Green open access

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Abstract

Previous studies have highlighted that affective touch delivered at slow velocities (1-10 cm/s) enhances body-part embodiment during multisensory illusions, yet its role towards whole-body embodiment is less established. Across two experiments, we investigated the role of affective touch towards subjective embodiment of a whole mannequin body within the full body illusion, amongst healthy females. Participants perceived affective touch to be more pleasant than non-affective touch, but this did not enhance subjective embodiment within the illusion and no interaction between synchrony (Experiment 1), or congruency (Experiment 2), and the velocity of touch was observed. Finally, the perceived pleasantness of touch was not modulated by subthreshold eating disorder psychopathology, as measured by means of a self-report questionnaire. Therefore, the present findings suggest that enhancement of embodiment due to affective touch may be body-part specific, and not generalise to greater ownership towards a whole body.

Type: Article
Title: The role of affective touch in whole-body embodiment remains equivocal
Location: United States
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2020.103059
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2020.103059
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
Keywords: Affective touch, Body ownership, Embodiment, Full body illusion, Multisensory integration
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences > Clinical, Edu and Hlth Psychology
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10117680
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