Heterosexual, gay, and lesbian people\u2019s reactivity to virtual caresses on their embodied avatars\u2019 taboo zones

Martina Fusaro,Gaetano Tieri,Salvatore Maria Aglioti,Matteo P Lisi

doi:10.1038/s41598-021-81168-w

Martina Fusaro, Gaetano Tieri + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-81168-w

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Abstract

Embodying an artificial agent through immersive virtual reality (IVR) may lead to feeling vicariously somatosensory stimuli on one’s body which are in fact never delivered. To explore whether vicarious touch in IVR reflects the basic individual and social features of real-life interpersonal interactions we tested heterosexual men/women and gay men/lesbian women reacting subjectively and physiologically to the observation of a gender-matched virtual body being touched on intimate taboo zones (like genitalia) by male and female avatars. All participants rated as most erogenous caresses on their embodied avatar taboo zones. Crucially, heterosexual men/women and gay men/lesbian women rated as most erogenous taboo touches delivered by their opposite and same gender avatar, respectively. Skin conductance was maximal when taboo touches were delivered by female avatars. Our study shows that IVR may trigger realistic experiences and ultimately allow the direct exploration of sensitive societal and individual issues that can otherwise be explored only through imagination.

Highlights

Embodying an artificial agent through immersive virtual reality (IVR) may lead to feeling vicariously somatosensory stimuli on one’s body which are never delivered
We devised a novel IVR-based paradigm in order to explore whether humanavatar interactions in virtual reality trigger mental and corporeal states that are similar to those evoked by actual human–human interactions in real life
We explored the vicarious sensations of touches delivered to different parts of a virtual body, seen from a 1PP, and how these sensations were modulated by different factors that fundamentally shape daily life touch-mediated interactions

Summary

Introduction

Embodying an artificial agent through immersive virtual reality (IVR) may lead to feeling vicariously somatosensory stimuli on one’s body which are never delivered. A recent paper by Maister and colleagues[7] expanded on these results exploring through an online survey the intensity of sexual arousal related to different body parts, on the respondent’s body and on a imagined partner’s body, in response of being touched or being looked at. Their results showed the existence of topographic arousal shared between the own and partner’s body as well as between touch and vision. True when the touching person is a stranger, and the touch stimulus has intimate connotations due to the touched body part or the context in which it is d elivered[9]

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