Body ownership and vicarious Agency: Behavioural consequences in a virtual reality rock concert

Abstract

Illusory body ownership, the sense that a life-sized virtual body seen from first person perspective (1PP) in virtual reality (VR), is your body, is a well-established result. Previous work has demonstrated that illusory body ownership also results in vicarious agency over actions of the virtual body (VB). Moreover, how those actions are carried out influences later real life behaviour. In our study participants entered a VR depicting a dressing room before a concert performance, embodied from 1PP as the lead singer of a famous historical rock group. Their VB either moved synchronously with their own movements (n = 20), or asynchronously (n = 20). Those in the Synchronous condition had greater body ownership over the VB. Moreover, in a later appearance on stage in front of a virtual audience, those in the Synchronous condition had greater vicarious agency with respect to their VB, were more likely to adopt the guitar playing posture of the VB and carry out greater movements than those in the Asynchronous group. Hence body ownership in the context of 1PP over the VB with synchrony was associated with vicarious agency and also behaviour concomitant with the concert situation. These findings highlight the powerful impact of embodied experiences on agency and action.