Developmental change in body form cues for sensing the self: a VR body illusion study [dataset]

The visual ’form’ features of our bodies contributing to a sense of embodiment (owning, controlling, and being located within one’s body) can be studied using virtual reality body illusions that manipulate avatar appearance. Work with adults suggests that for embodiment, structural form (e.g. shape, size, position) is more important than material form (e.g. colour, texture). This may not be true for children, whose bodies’ structural details change throughout development. Little work has systematically assessed the separate contributions of structural and material body form properties to embodiment, especially in childhood. The present study uses virtual reality with four controllable full-body avatars in children (aged 5-10 years) and adults (aged 18-42 years): an unaltered humanoid, a distortion of structure, of material, and of both. Embodiment is measured with self-report ratings for ownership, agency, and perceived body functional usefulness, as well as walking distance during exploration. We find some commonalities between adults and children, with structural form having greater influence than material form on exploratory walking and perceived body functional usefulness judgements. However, children place greater importance than adults on material form for body ownership, and on structural form for agency. We discuss implications of these novel findings for embodiment and development.