TY - JOUR A1 - Oberdörfer, Sebastian A1 - Schraudt, David A1 - Latoschik, Marc Erich T1 - Embodied gambling — investigating the influence of level of embodiment, avatar appearance, and virtual environment design on an online VR slot machine JF - Frontiers in Virtual Reality N2 - Slot machines are one of the most played games by players suffering from gambling disorder. New technologies like immersive Virtual Reality (VR) offer more possibilities to exploit erroneous beliefs in the context of gambling. Recent research indicates a higher risk potential when playing a slot machine in VR than on desktop. To continue this investigation, we evaluate the effects of providing different degrees of embodiment, i.e., minimal and full embodiment. The avatars used for the full embodiment further differ in their appearance, i.e., they elicit a high or a low socio-economic status. The virtual environment (VE) design can cause a potential influence on the overall gambling behavior. Thus, we also embed the slot machine in two different VEs that differ in their emotional design: a colorful underwater playground environment and a virtual counterpart of our lab. These design considerations resulted in four different versions of the same VR slot machine: 1) full embodiment with high socio-economic status, 2) full embodiment with low socio-economic status, 3) minimal embodiment playground VE, and 4) minimal embodiment laboratory VE. Both full embodiment versions also used the playground VE. We determine the risk potential by logging gambling frequency as well as stake size, and measuring harm-inducing factors, i.e., dissociation, urge to gamble, dark flow, and illusion of control, using questionnaires. Following a between groups experimental design, 82 participants played for 20 game rounds one of the four versions. We recruited our sample from the students enrolled at the University of Würzburg. Our safety protocol ensured that only participants without any recent gambling activity took part in the experiment. In this comparative user study, we found no effect of the embodiment nor VE design on neither the gambling frequency, stake sizes, nor risk potential. However, our results provide further support for the hypothesis of the higher visual angle on gambling stimuli and hence the increased emotional response being the true cause for the higher risk potential. KW - virtual reality KW - virtual environments KW - immersion KW - gambling KW - risks KW - embodiment KW - avatars Y1 - 2022 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-284662 SN - 2673-4192 VL - 3 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Gall, Dominik A1 - Roth, Daniel A1 - Stauffert, Jan-Philipp A1 - Zarges, Julian A1 - Latoschik, Marc Erich T1 - Embodiment in Virtual Reality Intensifies Emotional Responses to Virtual Stimuli JF - Frontiers in Psychology N2 - Modulating emotional responses to virtual stimuli is a fundamental goal of many immersive interactive applications. In this study, we leverage the illusion of illusory embodiment and show that owning a virtual body provides means to modulate emotional responses. In a single-factor repeated-measures experiment, we manipulated the degree of illusory embodiment and assessed the emotional responses to virtual stimuli. We presented emotional stimuli in the same environment as the virtual body. Participants experienced higher arousal, dominance, and more intense valence in the high embodiment condition compared to the low embodiment condition. The illusion of embodiment thus intensifies the emotional processing of the virtual environment. This result suggests that artificial bodies can increase the effectiveness of immersive applications psychotherapy, entertainment, computer-mediated social interactions, or health applications. KW - embodiment KW - virtual body ownership KW - avatars KW - agency KW - immersive interfaces KW - human-computer interaction KW - affective computing KW - emotions Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-245624 SN - 1664-1078 VL - 12 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Pfister, Robert A1 - Klaffehn, Annika L. A1 - Kalckert, Andreas A1 - Kunde, Winfried A1 - Dignath, David T1 - How to lose a hand: Sensory updating drives disembodiment JF - Psychonomic Bulletin & Review N2 - Body representations are readily expanded based on sensorimotor experience. A dynamic view of body representations, however, holds that these representations cannot only be expanded but that they can also be narrowed down by disembodying elements of the body representation that are no longer warranted. Here we induced illusory ownership in terms of a moving rubber hand illusion and studied the maintenance of this illusion across different conditions. We observed ownership experience to decrease gradually unless participants continued to receive confirmatory multisensory input. Moreover, a single instance of multisensory mismatch – a hammer striking the rubber hand but not the real hand – triggered substantial and immediate disembodiment. Together, these findings support and extend previous theoretical efforts to model body representations through basic mechanisms of multisensory integration. They further support an updating model suggesting that embodied entities fade from the body representation if they are not refreshed continuously. KW - body representation KW - embodiment KW - disembodiment KW - moving rubber-hand illusion Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-235195 SN - 1069-9384 VL - 28 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Eck, Julia A1 - Dignath, David A1 - Kalckert, Andreas A1 - Pfister, Roland T1 - Instant disembodiment of virtual body parts JF - Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics N2 - Evidence from multisensory body illusions suggests that body representations may be malleable, for instance, by embodying external objects. However, adjusting body representations to current task demands also implies that external objects become disembodied from the body representation if they are no longer required. In the current web-based study, we induced the embodiment of a two-dimensional (2D) virtual hand that could be controlled by active movements of a computer mouse or on a touchpad. Following initial embodiment, we probed for disembodiment by comparing two conditions: Participants either continued moving the virtual hand or they stopped moving and kept the hand still. Based on theoretical accounts that conceptualize body representations as a set of multisensory bindings, we expected gradual disembodiment of the virtual hand if the body representations are no longer updated through correlated visuomotor signals. In contrast to our prediction, the virtual hand was instantly disembodied as soon as participants stopped moving it. This result was replicated in two follow-up experiments. The observed instantaneous disembodiment might suggest that humans are sensitive to the rapid changes that characterize action and body in virtual environments, and hence adjust corresponding body representations particularly swiftly. KW - body representation KW - embodiment KW - disembodiment KW - moving rubber hand illusion KW - virtual hand illusion Y1 - 2022 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-324844 VL - 84 IS - 8 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Stein, Jan-Philipp A1 - Cimander, Paula A1 - Appel, Markus T1 - Power-posing robots: the influence of a humanoid robot’s posture and size on its perceived dominance, competence, eeriness, and threat JF - International Journal of Social Robotics N2 - When interacting with sophisticated digital technologies, people often fall back on the same interaction scripts they apply to the communication with other humans—especially if the technology in question provides strong anthropomorphic cues (e.g., a human-like embodiment). Accordingly, research indicates that observers tend to interpret the body language of social robots in the same way as they would with another human being. Backed by initial evidence, we assumed that a humanoid robot will be considered as more dominant and competent, but also as more eerie and threatening once it strikes a so-called power pose. Moreover, we pursued the research question whether these effects might be accentuated by the robot’s body size. To this end, the current study presented 204 participants with pictures of the robot NAO in different poses (expansive vs. constrictive), while also manipulating its height (child-sized vs. adult-sized). Our results show that NAO’s posture indeed exerted strong effects on perceptions of dominance and competence. Conversely, participants’ threat and eeriness ratings remained statistically independent of the robot’s depicted body language. Further, we found that the machine’s size did not affect any of the measured interpersonal perceptions in a notable way. The study findings are discussed considering limitations and future research directions. KW - robot KW - humanoid KW - embodiment KW - body language KW - posture KW - nonverbal communication Y1 - 2022 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-324502 SN - 1875-4791 VL - 14 IS - 6 ER - TY - THES A1 - Arnold, Michaela Maria T1 - Randomisierte, kontrollierte Studie zur Wirksamkeit von Affektregulierender Massagetherapie (ARMT) bei ambulanten Patienten mit leicht- und mittelgradigen Depressionen T1 - Randomized, controlled study on the effects of affect regulating Massage therapy (ARMT) for outpatients with mild and moderate depression N2 - In einer randomisierten und kontrollierten Studie an 57 ambulanten Patienten mit leichter- bis mittelgradiger Depression wurden die Effekte von körperorientierten Therapieverfahren (Affektregulierende Massagetherapie und Progressive Muskelrelaxation) untersucht. Dazu wurden die Teilnehmer in Massagegruppe (MG, n=30) und Kontrollgruppe (KG, n= 27) eingeteilt. Sie erhielten eine Serie von vier wöchentlichen Einzeltherapien in den jeweiligen Verfahren. Bei jeder Behandlung wurde eine Selbstbeurteilung mittels Visueller Analogskalen durch die Teilnehmer selbst durchgeführt. Außerdem gab es eine zweimalige Fremdbeurteilung mittels standardisierter Fragebögen (HAMD und BRMS), die vor und nach der kompletten Behandlungsserie durchgeführt wurde. Es wurden zudem Vor- und Abschlussgespräche durchgeführt und schriftlich dokumentiert. In der Selbstbeurteilung mittels VAS zeigten sich signifikante Ergebnisse zugunsten der Affektregulierenden Massagetherapie. Dabei waren die Dimensionen „Innere Unruhe“, „Schmerzen“, „Psychomotorische Hemmung“ und „Negatives Körpergefühl“ besonders beachtenswert. Auch in der Fremdbeurteilung ergaben sich signifikante Veränderungen zugunsten der Affektregulierenden Massagetherapie (HAMD p=0.034, BRMS p=0.041). Die durchgeführten Abschlussgespräche ergänzten und verfestigten diese Beobachtungen. Die statistische Überlegenheit der Affektregulierenden Massagetherapie lässt sich mit neurophysiologischen, psychologischen und humoralen Effekten begründen. Dabei spielen gesteigerte Interozeption, Aktivierung von CT-Afferenzen, sowie eine verbesserte interpersonelle Resonanz und Schwingungsfähigkeit dabei die entscheidende Rolle. Die Ergebnisse erbringen neue Evidenz, dass Patienten mit leicht- und mittelgradigen Depressionen von der Behandlung mit Affektregulierender Massagetherapie (ARMT) profitieren können. N2 - This study investigated the effects of a specially developed affect-regulating massage therapy (ARMT) versus individual treatment with a standardized relaxation procedure, progressive muscle relaxation (PMR), in 57 outpatients with depressive disorders. Patients were given one ARMT or PMR session weekly over 4 weeks. Changes of somatic and cognitive symptoms were assessed by standard psychiatric instruments (Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD) and Bech-Rafaelsen Melancholia Scale (BRMS)) as well as a visual analogue scale. Furthermore, oral statements from all participants were obtained in semi-structured interviews. The findings show clear and statistically significant superiority of ARMT over PMR. The results might be interpreted within various models. The concept of interoception, as well as the principles of body psychotherapy and phenomenological aspects, offers cues for understanding the mechanisms involved. Within a neurobiological context, the significance of C tactile afferents activated by special touch techniques and humoral changes such as increased oxytocin levels open additional ways of interpreting our findings. KW - Massage KW - Massagetherapie KW - Physikalische Therapie KW - Körpertherapie KW - Depression KW - Körperwahrnehmung KW - massagetherapy KW - embodiment KW - physiotherapy KW - depressive disorder KW - body awareness Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-236987 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Topolinski, Sascha A1 - Zürn, Michael A1 - Schneider, Iris K. T1 - What's in and what's out in branding? A novel articulation effect for brand names JF - Frontiers in Psychology N2 - The present approach exploits the biomechanical connection between articulation and ingestion-related mouth movements to introduce a novel psychological principle of brand name design. We constructed brand names for diverse products with consonantal stricture spots either from the front to the rear of the mouth, thus inwards (e.g., BODIKA), or from the rear to the front, thus outwards (e.g., KODIBA). These muscle dynamics resemble the oral kinematics during either ingestion (inwards), which feels positive, or expectoration (outwards), which feels negative. In 7 experiments (total N = 1261), participants liked products with inward names more than products with outward names (Experiment 1), reported higher purchase intentions (Experiment 2), and higher willingness-to-pay (Experiments 3a-3c, 4, 5), with the price gain amounting to 4-13% of the average estimated product value. These effects occurred across English and German language, under silent reading, for both edible and non-edible products, and even in the presence of a much stronger price determinant, namely fair-trade production (Experiment 5). KW - phonetic symbolism KW - moderating role KW - judgements KW - behavior KW - phonation KW - branding KW - articulation KW - sound symbolism KW - embodiment KW - phasic affective modulation KW - processing fluency KW - semantic coherence KW - affective consequences KW - consumers KW - intuition Y1 - 2015 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-143036 VL - 6 IS - 585 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Carolus, Astrid A1 - Wienrich, Carolin T1 - “Imagine this smart speaker to have a body”: An analysis of the external appearances and the characteristics that people associate with voice assistants JF - Frontiers in Computer Science N2 - Introduction Modern digital devices, such as conversational agents, simulate human–human interactions to an increasing extent. However, their outward appearance remains distinctly technological. While research revealed that mental representations of technology shape users' expectations and experiences, research on technology sending ambiguous cues is rare. Methods To bridge this gap, this study analyzes drawings of the outward appearance participants associate with voice assistants (Amazon Echo or Google Home). Results Human beings and (humanoid) robots were the most frequent associations, which were rated to be rather trustworthy, conscientious, agreeable, and intelligent. Drawings of the Amazon Echos and Google Homes differed marginally, but “human,” “robotic,” and “other” associations differed with respect to the ascribed humanness, consciousness, intellect, affinity to technology, and innovation ability. Discussion This study aims to further elaborate on the rather unconscious cognitive and emotional processes elicited by technology and discusses the implications of this perspective for developers, users, and researchers. KW - media equation KW - conversational agents KW - smart speakers KW - visualization of technology KW - embodiment Y1 - 2022 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-297175 SN - 2624-9898 VL - 4 ER -