Enfacing a female reduces the gender-science stereotype in males

Embodiment in the enfacement illusion is mediated by self-other overlap

The enfacement illusion is a facial version of the rubber hand illusion, in which participants experience tactile stimulation of their own faces synchronously with the observation of the same stimulation applied to another's face. In previous studies, participants have reported experiencing an illusory embodiment of the other's face following synchronous compared to asynchronous stimulation. In a series of three experiments, we addressed the following three questions: (i) how does similarity between the self and the other, operationalized here as being of the same or different gender to the other, impact the experience of embodiment in the enfacement illusion; (ii) does the experience of embodiment result from alterations to the self-concept; and (iii) is susceptibility to the experience of embodiment associated with interoceptive processing, i.e. perception of the internal state of the body? Results indicate that embodiment is facilitated by the similarity between the self and the other and is mediated by the incorporation of the other into the self-concept, but sensitivity to one's own internal states does not impact upon embodiment within the enfacement illusion. This article is part of the theme issue 'Minds in movement: embodied cognition in the age of artificial intelligence'.

Trust in virtual ingroup or outgroup members relies on perceived self-other overlap

Why do we trust each other? We carried out three experiments to test whether interpersonal trust depends on perceived self-other overlap. As previous studies suggest that enfacing (feeling ownership for, and include more into oneself of the face of) an avatar might make one trust this avatar more, we exposed participants to faces of ingroup and outgroup avatars that moved in synchrony or out of synchrony with the participant's own facial movements, and assessed the impact of synchrony on self-other overlap and trust measures. Experiment 1 used ingroup faces and successfully showed that synchrony (manipulated within-participants) increased self-other overlap and trust, which we assessed by means of the Trust Game and the Implicit Association Test (IAT). In Experiment 2, which used outgroup faces and a within-participants design, synchrony still increased scores in the Trust Game but the IAT was no longer affected. Experiment 3 replicated Experiment 2 but with synchrony varying between participants, which eliminated the synchrony effect in both trust measures. Importantly, Inclusion of Other in the Self (IOS) ratings were found to predict the IAT effect in synchronous conditions. Taken altogether, our findings suggest that interpersonal trust is mainly driven by perceived self-other overlap. Besides group identification, appearance, and voluntary movement, synchrony is just one of several sources contributing to perceived self-other overlap.

Fluid face but not gender: Enfacement illusion through digital face filters does not affect gender identity

It has been shown that observing a face being touched or moving in synchrony with our own face increases self-identification with the former which might alter both cognitive and affective processes. The induction of this phenomenon, termed enfacement illusion, has often relied on laboratory tools that are unavailable to a large audience. However, digital face filters applications are nowadays regularly used and might provide an interesting tool to study similar mechanisms in a wider population. Digital filters are able to render our faces in real time while changing important facial features, for example, rendering them more masculine or feminine according to normative standards. Recent literature using full-body illusions has shown that participants' own gender identity shifts when embodying a different gendered avatar. Here we studied whether participants' filtered faces, observed while moving in synchrony with their own face, may induce an enfacement illusion and if so, modulate their gender identity. We collected data from 35 female and 33 male participants who observed a stereotypically gender mismatched version of themselves either moving synchronously or asynchronously with their own face on a screen. Our findings showed a successful induction of the enfacement illusion in the synchronous condition according to a questionnaire addressing the feelings of ownership, agency and perceived similarity. However, we found no evidence of gender identity being modulated, neither in explicit nor in implicit measures of gender identification. We discuss the distinction between full-body and facial processing and the relevance of studying widely accessible devices that may impact the sense of a bodily self and our cognition, emotion and behaviour.

The Open Virtual Mirror Framework for enfacement illusions : Enhancing the sense of agency with avatars that imitate facial expressions

Enfacement illusions are traditionally elicited by visuo-tactile stimulation, but more active paradigms become possible through the usage of virtual reality techniques. For instance, virtual mirrors have been recently proposed to induce enfacement by visuo-motor stimulation. In a virtual mirror experiment, participants interact with an avatar that imitates their facial movements. The active control over the avatar greatly enhances the sense of agency, which is an important ingredient for successful enfacement illusion induction. Due to technological challenges, most virtual mirrors so far were limited to the imitation of the participant's head pose, i.e., its location and rotation. However, stronger experiences of agency can be expected by an increase in the avatar's mimicking abilities. We here present a new open-source framework for virtual mirror experiments, which we call the Open Virtual Mirror Framework (OVMF). The OVMF can track and imitate a large range of facial movements, including pose and expressions. It has been designed to run on standard computer hardware and easily interfaces with existing toolboxes for psychological experimentation, while satisfying the requirement of a tightly controlled experimental setup. Further, it is designed to enable convenient extension of its core functionality such that it can be flexibly adjusted to many different experimental paradigms. We demonstrate the usage of the OVMF and experimentally validate its ability to elicit experiences of agency over an avatar, concluding that the OVMF can serve as a reference for future experiments and that it provides high potential to stimulate new directions in enfacement research and beyond.

Changes in self-other boundaries modulate children's body image attitudes

One's own face is a key distinctive feature of our physical appearance, yet multisensory visuo-tactile stimulation can alter self-other boundaries, eliciting changes in adult's self-face representation and social cognition processes. This study tested whether changing self-face representation by altering self-other boundaries with the enfacement illusion modulates body image attitudes toward others in 6-11-year-old children (N = 51; 31 girls; predominantly White). Across all ages, congruent multisensory information led to stronger enfacement (η²_p = 0.06). Participants who experienced a stronger enfacement illusion showed preference for larger body size, suggesting increased positive body size attitudes. This effect was stronger in 6-7-year-olds compared to 8-9-year-olds. Thus, blurring self-other boundaries successfully modulates self-face representation and body image attitudes toward others in children. Our results suggest that increased self-resemblance through self-other blurring resulting from the enfacement illusion may reduce social comparisons between self and other and result in positive body size attitudes.

The use of virtual reality in studying prejudice and its reduction: A systematic review

This systematic review provides an up-to-date analysis of existing literature about Virtual Reality (VR) and prejudice. How has VR been used in studying intergroup attitudes, bias and prejudice, are VR interventions effective at reducing prejudice, and what methodological advantages and limitations does VR provide compared to traditional methods are the questions we aim to answer. The included studies had to use VR to create an interaction with one or more avatars belonging to an outgroup, and/or embodiment in an outgroup member; furthermore, they had to be quantitative and peer-reviewed. The review of the 64 included studies shows the potential of VR contact to improve intergroup relations. Nevertheless, the results suggest that under certain circumstances VR contact can increase prejudice as well. We discuss these results in relation to the intergroup perspective (i.e., minority or majority) and target minority groups used in the studies. An analysis of potential mediators and moderators is also carried out. We then identify and address the most pressing theoretical and methodological issues concerning VR as a method to reduce prejudice.