Embodied time and the out-of-body experience of the self
Résumé
Using an out-of-body paradigm, the present study provided further empirical evidence
for the theory of embodied time by suggesting that the body-self plays a key role in
time judgments. Looking through virtual reality glasses, the participants saw the arm
of a mannequin instead of their own arm. They had to judge the duration of the
interval between two (perceived) touches applied to the mannequin’s body after a
series of strokes had been viewed being made to the mannequin and tactile strokes
had been administered to the participants themselves. These strokes were administered
either synchronously or asynchronously. During the interval, a pleasant (touch with
a soft paintbrush) or an unpleasant stimulation (touch with a pointed knife) was
applied to the mannequin. The results showed that the participants felt the perceived
tactile stimulations in their own bodies more strongly after the synchronous than the
asynchronous stroking condition, a finding which is consistent with the out-of-body
illusion. In addition, the interval duration was judged longer in the synchronous than
in the asynchronous condition. This time distortion increased the greater the individual
out-of-body experience was. Our results therefore highlight the importance of the
awareness of the body-self in the processing of time, i.e., the significance of embodied
time.