УСТОЙЧИВОСТЬ БАЗОВОГО ИСКАЖЕНИЯ МЕНТАЛЬНОЙ РЕПРЕЗЕНТАЦИИ ТЕЛА ЧЕЛОВЕКА ПОСЛЕ СЕРИЙ ПОГРУЖЕНИЙ В ВИРТУАЛЬНУЮ РЕАЛЬНОСТЬ

Abstract

The article examines the stability of the basic distortion of bodysize mental representation after a series of immersions in virtual reality (VR), as well as their individual psychological conditionality. It was previously found that during immersion in VR, statistically significant distortions (additional exaggerations) of the body sizes arise in mental representation. Moreover, during a series of repeated immersions in VR, patterns of change in the basic (habitual for the respondent) distortion of the mental representation of body size were established. The issue of long-term sustainability of the identified distortions is considered in this study. Empirical data are presented on the basic distortion of the mental representation of the body in two homologous experimental samples of respondents (Group 1, n = 31, 27F, 4M, 20.1 ± 0.72 years, BMI 22.42 ± 3.75; Group 2, n = 33, 26F, 7M, 19.62 ± 1.21 years, BMI 20.76 ± 3.55). Involving two stratified samples over a two-year period, the study made it possible to compare the distortions in the mental representation of the body size after VR immersions, and also to verify their reproducibility among different respondents. First measurements were made before a series of VR immersions, and the final ones several months after their completion. It has been established that in the long term, the basic distortion of body size mental representation is stable and does not differ from the original one. This phenomenon is typical of both samples of respondents. Individual psychological correlates of basic distortion have been established. In particular, the level of expression of the factor of emotional lability of respondents is associated with its intensity.