Relationships Between Personality Features and the Rubber Hand Illusion: An Exploratory Study

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychology
• Body Ownership Research

Background:

• The rubber hand illusion (RHI) is a key paradigm for studying human body ownership.
• Multisensory integration is the primary explanation for the RHI, but individual differences suggest other factors are involved.
• Understanding these additional factors is crucial for explaining variability in RHI experiences.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the contribution of personality features to the emergence of the rubber hand illusion.
• To explore potential links between personality traits and inter-individual differences in RHI susceptibility.

Main Methods:

• Administered the rubber hand illusion paradigm to healthy participants.
• Utilized the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) and the Rorschach test to assess personality features.
• Correlated RHI outcomes with scores from the personality assessments.

Main Results:

• Two Rorschach domains, 'Perception and Thinking Problems' and 'Self and Other Representation', showed a positive correlation with illusory mislocalization of the participant's own hand.
• A tendency to perceive unconventionally was associated with greater illusory hand misplacement.
• The relationship between the RHI index and other measured personality features remained uncertain.

Conclusions:

• Personality features appear to play a role in the emergence and experience of the rubber hand illusion.
• These findings may help explain the significant inter-individual variability observed in RHI studies.
• Further research is warranted to fully elucidate the complex interplay between personality and body ownership illusions.