Distanced self-talk increases rational self-interest

Does stepping back to evaluate a situation from a distanced perspective lead us to be selfish or fair? This question has been of philosophical interest for centuries, and, more recently, the focus of extensive empirical inquiry. Yet, extant research reveals a puzzle: some studies suggest that adopting a distanced perspective will produce more rationally self-interested behavior, whereas others suggest that it will produce more impartial behavior. Here we adjudicate between these perspectives by testing the effects of adopting a third-person perspective on decision making in a task that pits rational self-interest against impartiality: the dictator game. Aggregating across three experiments (N = 774), participants who used third-person (i.e., distanced) vs. first-person (i.e., immersed) self-talk during the dictator game kept more money for themselves. We discuss these results in light of prior research showing that psychological distance can promote cooperation and fairmindedness and how the effect of psychological distance on moral decision-making may be sensitive to social context.

Seeing What I Did (Not): Cerebral and Behavioral Effects of Agency and Perspective on Episodic Memory Re-activation

Intuitively, we assume that we remember episodes better when we actively participated in them and were not mere observers. Independently of this, we can recall episodes from either the first-person perspective (1pp) or the third-person perspective (3pp). In this functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study, we tested whether agency and perspective modulate neural activity during memory retrieval and subsequently enhance memory performance. Subjects encoded a set of different episodes by either imitating or only observing videos that showed short toy stories. A week later, we conducted fMRI and cued episodic retrieval by presenting the original videos, or slightly modified versions thereof, from 1pp or from 3pp. The hippocampal formation was sensitive to self-performed vs. only observed actions only when there was an episodic mismatch. In a post-fMRI memory test a history of self-performance did not improve behavioral memory performance. However, modified videos were often (falsely) accepted as showing truly experienced episodes when: (i) they were already presented in this modified version during fMRI or (ii) they were presented in their original form during fMRI but from 3pp. While the overall effect of modification was strong, the effects of perspective and agency were more subtle. Together, our findings demonstrate that self-performance and self-perspective modulate the strength of a memory trace in different ways. Even when memory performance remains the same for different agentive states, the brain is capable of detecting mismatching information. Re-experiencing the latter impairs memory performance as well as retrieving encoded episodes from 3pp.

Contributions of Body-Orientation to Mental Ball Dropping Task During Out-of-Body Experiences

Out-of-body experiences (OBEs) provide fascinating insights into our understanding of bodily self-consciousness and the workings of the brain. Studies that examined individuals with brain lesions reported that OBEs are generally characterized by participants experiencing themselves outside their physical body (i.e., disembodied feeling) (Blanke and Arzy, 2005). Based on such a characterization, it has been shown that it is possible to create virtual OBEs in immersive virtual environments (Ehrsson, 2007; Ionta et al., 2011b; Bourdin et al., 2017). However, the extent to which body-orientation influences virtual OBEs is not well-understood. Thus, in the present study, 30 participants (within group design) experienced a full-body ownership illusion (synchronous visuo-tactile stimulation only) induced with a gender-matched full-body virtual avatar seen from the first-person perspective (1PP). At the beginning of the experiment, participants performed a mental ball dropping (MBD) task, seen from the location of their virtual avatar, to provide a baseline measurement. After this, a full-body ownership illusion (embodiment phase) was induced in all participants. This was followed by the virtual OBE illusion phase of the experiment (disembodiment phase) in which the first-person viewpoint was switched to a third-person perspective (3PP), and participants' disembodied viewpoint was gradually raised to 14 m above the virtual avatar, from which altitude they repeated the MBD task. During the experiment, this procedure was conducted twice, and the participants were allocated first to the supine or the standing body position at random. Results of the MBD task showed that the participants experienced increased MBD durations during the supine condition compared to the standing condition. Furthermore, although the findings from the subjective reports confirmed the previous findings of virtual OBEs, no significant difference between the two postures was found for body ownership. Taken together, the findings of the current study make further contributions to our understanding of both the vestibular system and time perception during OBEs.

Multiple perspectives integration for virtual reality-aided assemblability assessment in narrow assembly spaces

Virtual reality (VR) has been proved as a promising tool for industrial design, but the traditional VR interface of first-person perspective (1PP) is not efficient to support assemblability assessment in narrow assembly spaces. In this paper, we proposed the multi-perspectives interface (MPI) which integrates the 1PP and the third-person perspective (3PP) using the handheld world-in-miniature (WIM). The MPI allows users to simulate the assembly operations in a natural manner similar to 1PP, while providing users with an overview of the assembly status through the WIM to assess the assemblability with superior spatial awareness. Two studies were conducted to test the performance of the proposed MPI. The first study tested user’s interaction performance in MPI using a common interaction task, which reveals stronger spatial awareness in MPI than in 1PP without the cost of losing natural interaction. Based on the results of the first study, the second study tested the performance, usability, and workload of MPI in an assemblability assessment task. The results show the advantages of MPI in the reachability evaluation in the narrow spaces. The main contribution of this paper is improving the interface and user-interface interaction in VR-aided assembly assessment system to improve user’s interaction performance and assessment ability in narrow assembly spaces.

Top-down recognition leads to a reduced sense of body ownership in individuals with depersonalization tendencies: A focus on full body illusion

Sense of body ownership, i.e., the feeling that “my body belongs to me,” has been examined by both the rubber hand illusion (RHI) and full body illusion (FBI). In a study that examined the relationship between RHI and depersonalization, a symptom in which people experience a lower sense of body ownership, the degree of illusion was higher in people with a high depersonalization tendency. However, other reports have suggested that people with depersonalization disorder have difficulty feeling the sense of body ownership. Examination of depersonalization suggests that the negative body recognition in people with depersonalization may make them less likely to feel a sense of body ownership, but this has not yet been examined. In this study, by manipulating top-down recognition (e.g., instructing participants to recognize a fake body as theirs), we clarified the cause of the reduced sense of body ownership in people with a high depersonalization tendency. The FBI procedure was conducted in a virtual reality environment using an avatar as a fake body. The avatar was presented from a third-person perspective, and visual-tactile stimuli were presented to create an illusion. To examine the degree of illusion, we measured the skin conductance responses to the fear stimulus presented after the visual-tactile stimuli presentation. The degree of depersonalization was measured using the Japanese version of the Cambridge Depersonalization Scale. To manipulate the top-down recognition to the avatar, we provided self-association instructions before the presentation of the visual-tactile stimuli. The results showed that participants with a high depersonalization tendency had a lower degree of illusion (rho = -.589, p < .01) in the self-association condition, and a higher one (rho = .552, p < .01) in the non-association instruction condition. This indicates that although people with a high depersonalization tendency are more likely to feel a sense of body ownership through the integration of visual-tactile stimuli, top-down recognition of the body as one’s own leads to a decrease in the sense of body ownership.

Association of Resting-state Brain Activity with Wise Advising: an fMRI study

Advice-giving is a common theme of wisdom in daily life. An electroencephalogram (EEG) study indicated that resting-state neural oscillations were associated with wise advising from a second- but not a third-person perspective. We hypothesized that resting-state neural activity should be associated with wise advising as a function of psychological distance. In our study, 52 participants provided advice on various life dilemmas using either a second- or a third- perspective after a resting-state fMRI scanning. The results showed that participants felt a significantly smaller psychological distance when advising from the second- than the third-person perspective. Perspective-taking when advising from the second-person perspective was significantly correlated with the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) in precuneus and calcarine; while that from the third-person perspective was associated with precuneus and precentral gyrus. Moreover, meta-level humility when advising from the third-person perspective was associated with anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). The results supported our hypothesis. Wisdom from different psychological distances may rely on different neural bases and mental processes.

Seeing what I did (not): Cerebral and behavioral effects of agency and perspective on episodic memory re-activation

Intuitively, we assume that we remember episodes better when we actively participated in them and were not mere observers. Independently of this, we can recall episodes from either the first-person perspective (1pp) or the third-person perspective (3pp). In this functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study, we tested whether agency and perspective modulate neural activity during memory retrieval and subsequently enhance memory performance. Subjects encoded a set of different episodes by either imitating or only observing videos that showed short toy stories. A week later, we conducted fMRI and cued episodic retrieval by presenting the original videos, or slightly modified versions thereof, from 1pp or from 3pp. The hippocampal formation responded more strongly to episodic mismatches in previously self-performed vs. only observed actions. In a post-fMRI memory test a history of self-performance did not improve behavioral memory performance. However, modified videos were often (falsely) accepted as showing truly experienced episodes when: (i) they were already presented in this modified version during fMRI or (ii) they were presented in their original form during fMRI but from 3pp. Together, our findings demonstrate that self-performance and self-perspective modulate the strength of a memory trace in different ways. Even when memory performance remains the same for different agentive states, the brain is capable of detecting mismatching information. Re-experiencing the latter impairs memory performance as well as retrieving encoded episodes from 3pp.

Designing a Game for Upper Limb Rehabilitation Following a Stroke

<p>Background: Many stroke survivors suffer from motor impairments such as upper limb hemiparesis accompanied by cognitive and emotional impairments that can affect their ability to function. Rehabilitation interventions are effective in promoting the return of function. However, patients’ engagement is necessary in order to maintain the improvements, and research shows that stroke survivors need more opportunities to engage with rehabilitation outside of the clinic. Digital games can offer a solution by providing an engaging context for performing the exercises correctly and learning new skills. Aims: This research aims to increase engagement with upper limb rehabilitation following a stroke through a custom digital game that facilitates effective rehabilitation methods, and is played with the Able-M, a game controller designed for upper limb rehabilitation by Im-Able. Methods: The development process was based on a human-centred design approach that consisted of a literature review, personas generation, exploratory studies including field observations in a clinic and discussions with therapists, iterative design through qualitative studies including user observations, interviews with patients, and feedback from a neuro-physiotherapist. Conclusions: Based on the design process, the game prototype includes the following elements: Adaptive gameplay for physical and cognitive challenge-skill balance, obstacles to increase challenge, feedback provision to enhance engagement and facilitate motor learning, rhythmic elements to facilitate rhythmic auditory stimulation, narrative based on user research to facilitate focus diversion, and different navigation mechanisms to promote neuroplasticity. High contrast, bird eye view, and third person perspective for ease of use. Limitations and directions for further research are discussed.</p>

Designing a Game for Upper Limb Rehabilitation Following a Stroke

<p>Background: Many stroke survivors suffer from motor impairments such as upper limb hemiparesis accompanied by cognitive and emotional impairments that can affect their ability to function. Rehabilitation interventions are effective in promoting the return of function. However, patients’ engagement is necessary in order to maintain the improvements, and research shows that stroke survivors need more opportunities to engage with rehabilitation outside of the clinic. Digital games can offer a solution by providing an engaging context for performing the exercises correctly and learning new skills. Aims: This research aims to increase engagement with upper limb rehabilitation following a stroke through a custom digital game that facilitates effective rehabilitation methods, and is played with the Able-M, a game controller designed for upper limb rehabilitation by Im-Able. Methods: The development process was based on a human-centred design approach that consisted of a literature review, personas generation, exploratory studies including field observations in a clinic and discussions with therapists, iterative design through qualitative studies including user observations, interviews with patients, and feedback from a neuro-physiotherapist. Conclusions: Based on the design process, the game prototype includes the following elements: Adaptive gameplay for physical and cognitive challenge-skill balance, obstacles to increase challenge, feedback provision to enhance engagement and facilitate motor learning, rhythmic elements to facilitate rhythmic auditory stimulation, narrative based on user research to facilitate focus diversion, and different navigation mechanisms to promote neuroplasticity. High contrast, bird eye view, and third person perspective for ease of use. Limitations and directions for further research are discussed.</p>

Valence of Temporal Self-Appraisals: A Comparison Between First-Person Perspective and Third-Person Perspective

Mental time travel is one of the most remarkable achievements of mankind. On the one hand, people perceive past self, present self, and future self as a continuous unity; on the other hand, people have the ability to distinguish among the three types of temporal selves because there are different representations of them. In this study, we used an adapted temporal self-reference paradigm to explore the processing mechanism of different temporal selves. Temporal self-reference was performed from the first-person perspective in Experiment 1 and from the third-person perspective in Experiment 2. The results indicated that people showed a more positive bias toward future self compared with past self and present self no matter in the first-person perspective or third-person perspective. There was no difference in recognition rate among past self, present self, and future self. Compared with the first-person perspective, present self-processing in the third-person perspective was more abstract and generalized, which may reflect that the third-person perspective has the same distancing function as time. This study can deepen understandings on temporal self-appraisals from different perspectives.