Embodying the avatar of an omnipotent agent modulates the perception of one's own abilities and enhances feelings of invulnerability.
Journal
Scientific reports
ISSN: 2045-2322
Titre abrégé: Sci Rep
Pays: England
ID NLM: 101563288
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
14 12 2022
14 12 2022
Historique:
received:
27
07
2022
accepted:
08
12
2022
entrez:
14
12
2022
pubmed:
15
12
2022
medline:
17
12
2022
Statut:
epublish
Résumé
Immersive virtual reality can give people the illusion of owning artificial bodies (i.e., avatars) and controlling their actions. Tellingly, people appear to adhere to the newly embodied entities not just on the basis of physical traits but also behaving accordingly with the hallmarks of the represented characters. In two studies we pushed the limits of this process by testing if one's own sense of power could be affected by embodying the anthropomorphic representation of the Christian God, that is considered an omnipotent entity. A human Muscled and a Normotype avatar were used as controls. Results showed that participants embodying the God-avatar: (i) reacted to a threatening event compromising their physical safety by exhibiting a lower skin conductance response and heart rate deceleration compared to the Normotype-control avatar (Study 1); (ii) estimated they had more physical abilities compared to both the Normotype-control and the Muscled-control avatars (Study 2). Taken together, our findings suggest that embodying an omnipotent agent may exert an influence on people's perception of their own limits and capabilities, nourishing feelings of physical invulnerability and strength. Our study indicates that effectively embodying virtual role models may boost achievements and have translational implications in the field of empowerment.
Identifiants
pubmed: 36517558
doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-26016-1
pii: 10.1038/s41598-022-26016-1
pmc: PMC9751071
doi:
Types de publication
Journal Article
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Pagination
21585Informations de copyright
© 2022. The Author(s).
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