Embodying an artificial agent through immersive virtual reality (IVR) may lead to feeling somatosensory stimuli on one’s body which are in fact never delivered. What remains unknown is whether the vicarious touch in virtual reality reflects the basic individual and social features of real-life interpersonal interactions. Here, we explored the subjective and objective reactivity of heterosexual men/women (Study 1) and of gay men/lesbian women (Study 2) to the observation of a gender-matched virtual body being touched on different body parts, including the breast and genitalia, by male and female avatars. In addition to the illusory feeling of being touched and of owning the virtual body, participants reported on different aspects of the experience (e.g., appropriateness, erogeneity). Physiological measures of autonomic reactivity were also collected. Heterosexual men rated the female avatar’s touch as more appropriate and erogenous, while heterosexual women rated female and male avatar touches as equally appropriate, with the latter being most erogenous. Interestingly, gay men exhibited the same pattern of appropriateness and erogeneity as heterosexual women. In contrast, lesbian women rated more appropriate and erogenous the touches of the female avatar. For all participants, the most appropriate and erogenous regions were the social and the intimate ones, respectively. Importantly, touches on the virtual body’s intimate areas elicited the highest skin conductance response when participants were touched by a female avatar. Thus, IVR may easily induce vicarious experiences and ultimately allow the direct exploration of sensitive societal and individual issues that can otherwise be explored only through imagination.
Mental health and quality of life of gay men and lesbians in England and Wales