Experiment reveals that experience of 'changing body of self and friend' changes self recognition
The event 'When you hit a friend strongly, your spirit enters your body, and your friend's spirit enters your body,' often appears in fiction works such as comics, novels, and dramas. As a result of a Swedish research team using headsets to let people experience the 'replacement phenomenon of the body', it was found that people's self-awareness and memory were affected.
Perception of Our Own Body Influences Self-Concept and Self-Incoherence Impairs Episodic Memory: iScience
'Swapping Bodies' With a Friend Swaps Your Beliefs, Strange Experiment Reveals
https://www.sciencealert.com/strange-study-shows-swapping-bodies-with-a-friend-also-swaps-your-beliefs
Scientists still haven't found a way to actually cause a 'swap of bodies,' but researchers at the
The 33 pairs of friends who participated in this experiment wore headsets while lying on the bed. Participants may feel as if they 'entered a friend's body' through the field of view of the headset, as the field of view of the headset was not theirs, but was transmitted by the headset worn by a friend of the pair. It was done.
In addition, the research team not only changed the field of view, but also intervened by touching the participants' bodies with a tool with a sphere on the end of the stick, making the sense of physical change stronger.
By matching the timing when the ball touches your body with the timing when the ball touches your friend's body in the field of view, you can easily illusion that your friend's body is your body.
The experiment lasted only a few minutes, but the participants had the illusion that their psyche was in the flesh of a friend. When the research team threatened a prop knife close to the body of a friend, the participants showed reactions such as sweating, even though their own body was not threatened by the knife.
Before the experiment, participants answered about their own personality and the personality of their paired friends based on characteristics such as speech, cheerfulness, independence, and self-confidence. I was asked about my own personality. As a result, it seems that the answers during the experiment were similar to the 'personality of the paired friends' compared to the answers before the experiment, suggesting that self-recognition changed even in the experiment for just a few minutes It was said that it was done. This change in personality became more pronounced the more intense the reaction was when the knife was brought close to the body of a friend, that is, the feeling that 'my spirit is in the body of a friend'.
'We have shown that self-awareness has the potential to change rapidly. This has some practical implications that are potentially interesting,' said the neuroscientist at the Karolinska Institute. Commented Pawel Tacikowski .
For example, people who suffer from depression often have harsh and negative beliefs about themselves, and in some cases have a serious impact on their daily lives. However, experiencing the transposition can change the beliefs about oneself, Tacikowski said. In addition, you can go away your heart and mind and body, or feel like have observed yourself depersonalization to be understanding of, yes there is a possibility that the current study results help.
In addition, this experiment showed that physical changes also affect the memory of participants. When the research team conducted an episodic memory test on the subjects during the experiment, it was found that the participants who were experiencing physical changes were found to have a decline in the performance of the memory test.
Regarding the reason for the memory experiment, Tacikowski said, 'The fact that 'a person is good at remembering things related to himself' is already scientifically established. Therefore, the illusion of self-expression I thought it would impair the participants' memory if they were disturbed.'
According to the research team, participants with a greater degree of self-awareness approaching their friends' perceptions during the experiment, that is, those who more strongly accepted that their own spirit was in the body of their friends, had less memory loss. It seems that The researchers think that this result may have helped maintain memory because there was less 'gap between one's body and mind' due to physical changes.
This study raises all kinds of interesting questions about the sense of self that is formed based on one's body perception. In particular, the body changes with age, so changes in the body with age may affect the mind.
Related Posts:
in Science, Posted by log1h_ik