The Rubber Hand Illusion: Feeling of Ownership and Proprioceptive Drift Do Not Go Hand in Hand
Author Information
Author(s): Rohde Marieke, Di Luca Massimiliano, Ernst Marc O., Greenlee Mark W.
Primary Institution: Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics
Hypothesis
Synchronous stroking would lead to a gradual increase in proprioceptive drift, while smaller or no drifts were expected in the asynchronous condition.
Conclusion
The study concludes that proprioceptive drift and the feeling of ownership are dissociated and arise from different mechanisms of multisensory integration.
Supporting Evidence
- Proprioceptive drift occurred in both synchronous and asynchronous conditions.
- Feelings of ownership were only reported in the synchronous stroking condition.
- Frequent measurements dissociated proprioceptive drift from the feeling of ownership.
Takeaway
When people see a rubber hand being stroked while their own hand is hidden, they might feel like the rubber hand is theirs, but this feeling doesn't always match how they perceive their hand's position.
Methodology
Participants were tested in two experiments measuring proprioceptive drift during synchronous and asynchronous stroking of a rubber hand.
Potential Biases
Potential biases from the adaptive staircase method used for measuring proprioceptive drift.
Limitations
The study's findings may not generalize to other methods of measuring perceived finger location.
Participant Demographics
50 participants aged 18-51, with a mix of genders and handedness.
Statistical Information
P-Value
p=0.013 for synchronous condition, p=0.039 for asynchronous condition
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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