TY - JOUR

T1 - Embodying an invisible face shrinks the cone of gaze

AU - D'Angelo, Mariano

AU - Maister, Lara

AU - Tucciarelli, Raffaele

AU - Frassinetti, Francesca

AU - Longo, Matthew

N1 - This article may not exactly replicate the authoritative document published in the APA journal. It is not the copy of record.

PY - 2021/6

Y1 - 2021/6

N2 - The possibility of being invisible has long fascinating people. Recent research showed that multisensory illusions can induce experiences of bodily invisibility, allowing the psychological consequences of invisibility to be explored. Here, we demonstrate an illusion of embodying an invisible face. Participants received touches on their face and simultaneously saw a paintbrush moving synchronously in empty space and defining the shape of an invisible face. We show that such invisible enfacement induces a sense of ownership using both explicit questionnaire measures (Experiment 1) and implicit physiological measures (Experiment 2). We further demonstrated that embodying an invisible face shrinks the width of the cone of gaze, i.e. the range of eye deviations people judge as directed towards themselves (Experiment 3 and 4). These results suggest that the experience of invisibility affects the way in which we process the attention of others toward the self, starting from the perception of gaze direction.

AB - The possibility of being invisible has long fascinating people. Recent research showed that multisensory illusions can induce experiences of bodily invisibility, allowing the psychological consequences of invisibility to be explored. Here, we demonstrate an illusion of embodying an invisible face. Participants received touches on their face and simultaneously saw a paintbrush moving synchronously in empty space and defining the shape of an invisible face. We show that such invisible enfacement induces a sense of ownership using both explicit questionnaire measures (Experiment 1) and implicit physiological measures (Experiment 2). We further demonstrated that embodying an invisible face shrinks the width of the cone of gaze, i.e. the range of eye deviations people judge as directed towards themselves (Experiment 3 and 4). These results suggest that the experience of invisibility affects the way in which we process the attention of others toward the self, starting from the perception of gaze direction.

U2 - 10.1037/xge0000953

DO - 10.1037/xge0000953

M3 - Article

VL - 150

SP - 1132

EP - 1146

JO - Journal of Experimental Psychology: General

JF - Journal of Experimental Psychology: General

SN - 0096-3445

IS - 6

ER -