Rubber Hand Experiment Psychology

A rubber hand two paint brushes scissors tape and several pieces of cardboard that are 1 ft high by 2 ft long.

Rubber hand experiment psychology.

Body transfer illusion is the illusion of owning either a part of a body or an entire body other than one s own thus it is sometimes referred to as body ownership in the research literature. It can be induced experimentally by manipulating the visual perspective of the subject and also supplying visual and sensory signals which correlate to the subject s body. To experience the rubber hand illusion you ll need a fake hand of some kind an inflated rubber glove will often do the trick a flat piece of cardboard and two. In 1998 researchers matthew botvinick and jonathan cohen of the university of pittsburgh pa detailed an experiment that people would later refer to as the rubber hand illusion rhi.

The experimenter stood in front of each seated participant who was asked to extend both arms on the table. Multisensory integration the area of psychology that works with the study of how information from different sensory modules may be integrated by the nervous system conclusion. A position that is plausible anatomically with regard to the participant s body then the combination of visual input from the rubber hand and tactile stimulation to the participant s hidden hand produces the feeling that the rubber hand is part of the body in around half of participants. First build the occluder box.

In preparation for the experiment obtain the following materials. The trick s usefulness in neuroscience research belies its simplicity. If you ve got a relatively lifelike rubber hand lying around along with a couple of helpers you can create the illusion right now. When and artificial hand is placed in a position compatible with the participant s own posture i e.

The rubber hand experiment plays a small but important roll in researching multisensory integration and. A rubber hand experiment conducted at vanderbilt lab in 2011 produced an observable repeatable out of body experience source. Experiments with a fake body part have revealed how the brain becomes confused during a party trick known as the rubber hand illusion.