Cited by 305Virtual Reality Applications and ImpactsSocial Robot Interaction and HRIEmbodied and Extended Cognition

Virtually Being Einstein Results in an Improvement in Cognitive Task Performance and a Decrease in Age Bias

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Banakou, Domna, Kishore, Sameer, Slater, Mel·2018·Frontiers in Psychology

Abstract

The brain's body representation is amenable to rapid change, even though we tend to think of our bodies as relatively fixed and stable. For example, it has been shown that a life-sized body perceived in virtual reality as substituting the participant's real body, can be felt as if it were their own, and that the body type can induce perceptual, attitudinal and behavioral changes. Here we show that changes can also occur in cognitive processing and specifically, executive functioning. Fifteen male participants were embodied in a virtual body that signifies super-intelligence (Einstein) and 15 in a (Normal) virtual body of similar age to their own. The Einstein body participants performed better on a cognitive task than the Normal body, considering prior cognitive ability (IQ), with the improvement greatest for those with low self-esteem. Einstein embodiment also reduced implicit bias against older people. Hence virtual body ownership may additionally be used to enhance executive functioning.

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  • In another study, when participants are self-represented as Albert Einstein this improved their performance on a cognitive task compared to being represented in an anonymous virtual body of approximately their own age, at least for participants with low self-esteem.

    “in another study we found that when participants are self-represented as Albert Einstein this improved their performance on a cognitive task compared to being represented in an anonymous virtual body of approximately their own age35, at least for participants with low self-esteem.”

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Research works printed but not linked: 4

  1. Mruk C. (2006). Self-Esteem Research, Theory and Practice: Towards a Positive Psychology of Self-Esteem. 3rd Edn. New York, NY: Springer.
  2. Strauss E. Sherman E. Spreen O. (2006). A Compendium of Neuropsychological Tests: Administration, Norms, and Commentary 3rd Edn. New York, NY Oxford University Press.
  3. Tajadura-Jiménez A. Basia M. Deroy O. Fairhurst M. Marquardt N. Bianchi-berthouze N. (2015). As light as your footsteps: altering walking sounds to change perceived body weight, emotional state and gait in CHI '15 Proceedings of the 33rd Annual ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (New York, NY: ACM), 2943– 2952.
  4. Yee N. Bailenson J. N. (2006). Walk A Mile in Digital Shoes: The Impact of Embodied Perspective-Taking on The Reduction of Negative Stereotyping in Immersive Virtual Environments, in Proceedings of PRESENCE 2006: The 9th Annual International Workshop on Presence, (Cleveland, OH) 1– 9.

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Authors
Banakou, D., Kishore, S., & Slater, M.
Affiliations
Universitat de Barcelona (ES)
Corresponding author
Slater, Mel
Venue
Frontiers in Psychology
Published
2018-06-11
Volume
9
Pages
917-917
ISSN
1664-1078 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2804788713
Cited by
305
References
73
Citations by year
2026: 39 · 2025: 44 · 2024: 40 · 2023: 48 · 2022: 43 · 2021: 47 · 2020: 28 · 2019: 14 · 2018: 2
FWCI
22.62
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Frontiers in Psychology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
Funders
Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (PSI2014-56301-R)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Human-Computer Interaction › Virtual Reality Applications and Impacts
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Social Robot Interaction and HRI
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Embodied and Extended Cognition
Keywords
virtual embodiment, representation of the body, executive function, cognitive task performance, age bias, implicit bias, self-esteem

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