TY - JOUR
T1 - New reflections on agency and body ownership
T2 - The moving rubber hand illusion in the mirror
AU - Jenkinson, Paul
AU - Preston, Catherine
PY - 2015/5
Y1 - 2015/5
N2 - No previous study has simultaneously examined body ownership and agency in healthy subjects during mirror self-observation. We used a moving rubber hand illusion to examine how both body ownership and agency are affected by seeing (i) the body moving in a mirror, compared with (ii) directly viewing the moving hand, and (iii) seeing a visually identical hand rotated by 180°. We elicited ownership of the hand using direct visual feedback, finding this effect was further enhanced when looking at the hand in a mirror, whereas rotating the hand 180° abolished ownership. Agency was similarly elicited using direct visual feedback, and equally so in the mirror, but again reduced for the 180° hand. We conclude that the reflected body in a mirror is treated as ‘special’ in the mind, and distinct from other external objects. This enables bodies and actions viewed in a mirror to be directly related to the self.
AB - No previous study has simultaneously examined body ownership and agency in healthy subjects during mirror self-observation. We used a moving rubber hand illusion to examine how both body ownership and agency are affected by seeing (i) the body moving in a mirror, compared with (ii) directly viewing the moving hand, and (iii) seeing a visually identical hand rotated by 180°. We elicited ownership of the hand using direct visual feedback, finding this effect was further enhanced when looking at the hand in a mirror, whereas rotating the hand 180° abolished ownership. Agency was similarly elicited using direct visual feedback, and equally so in the mirror, but again reduced for the 180° hand. We conclude that the reflected body in a mirror is treated as ‘special’ in the mind, and distinct from other external objects. This enables bodies and actions viewed in a mirror to be directly related to the self.
U2 - 10.1016/j.concog.2015.02.020
DO - 10.1016/j.concog.2015.02.020
M3 - Article
SN - 1053-8100
VL - 33
SP - 432
EP - 442
JO - Consciousness and cognition
JF - Consciousness and cognition
ER -