Search results for "personal space"
showing 10 items of 14 documents
The shape of personal space.
2019
The notion of a personal space surrounding one's ego-center is time-honored. However, few attempts have been made to measure the shape of this space. With increasing use of virtual environments, the question has arisen if real-world aspects, such as gender-effects or the shape of personal space, translate to virtual setups. We conducted two experiments, one with real people matched according to body height and level of acquaintance in a large laboratory setting, and one where subjects faced a virtual character, likewise matched to their body height. The first experiment also used a mannequin in place of the second human observer. The second experiment additionally manipulated the perspectiv…
Effects of symmetry, texture, and monocular viewing on geographical slant estimation.
2018
Hills often appear to be steeper than they are. The unusual magnitude of this error has prompted extensive experimentation. The judgment mode, such as verbal vs. action-based measures, the state of the observer - whether exhausted or well rested - all can influence perceived geographical slant. We hold that slant perception is inherently shaky as soon as the slope in question is no longer palpable, that is if it is outside our personal space. To make this point, we have added symmetry, texture, and depression to the list of factors that might modulate slant perception. When the frontal slope of a hill is to be judged, it appears steeper when the side slopes are steep. We have used model hil…
Dissociating effect of upper limb non-use and overuse on space and body representations.
2015
Accurate and updated representations of the space where the body acts, i.e. the peripersonal space (PPS), and the location and dimension of body parts (body representation, BR) are essential to perform actions. Because both PPS and BR are involved in motor execution and display the same plastic proprieties after the use of a tool to reach far objects, it has been suggested that they overlap in a unique representation of the body in a space devoted to action. Here we determined whether manipulating actions in space, without modifying body metrics, i.e. through immobilization, induces a dissociation of the plastic properties of PPS and BR. In 39 healthy subjects we evaluated PPS and BR for th…
The anisotropy of personal space.
2019
Violations of personal space are associated with discomfort. However, the exact function linking the magnitude of discomfort to interpersonal distance has not yet been specified. In this study, we explore whether interpersonal distance and discomfort are isotropic with respect to uncomfortably far or close distances. We also extend previous findings with regard to intrusions into personal space as well as maintenance of distances outside of personal space. We presented subjects with 15 interpersonal distances ranging from 40 to 250 cm and obtained verbal and joystick-based ratings of discomfort. Whereas discomfort rose immediately when personal space was entered, the gradient was less steep…
Effect of Gaze on Personal Space: A Japanese–German Cross-Cultural Study
2018
In East Asian cultures, people maintain larger interpersonal distances than in European or American cultures. We investigated whether a preference for averted gaze might be responsible for this difference. Typically, when measuring interpersonal distance, participants are asked to maintain eye contact. This request might bias findings due to cultural differences in the interpretation of direct gaze. We had Japanese and German participants adjust preferred interpersonal distance in a standardized laboratory task, using averaged faces with straight-ahead or averted gaze direction. In line with previous findings, Japanese participants preferred overall larger interpersonal distances, and fema…
Representational Bias in the Radial Axis in Children With Dyslexia: A Landmarks Alignment Study.
2018
To better identify the distinctive characteristics of space representation in the radial dimension, we have proposed a new paradigm: the landmarks alignment task where two parallel aluminum bars were radially presented. Children had to move a landmark along one bar and place it at the same location as the reference landmark placed by the examiner on the parallel bar. The major interest of this task was its capacity to assess space representation in the radial dimension when considering a spatial landmark that oriented the subject’s attention toward the orthogonal dimension. The most important result showed that in the radial dimension children with dyslexia exhibited a forward bias on the …
Unconscious integration of multisensory bodily inputs in the peripersonal space shapes bodily self-consciousness
2017
International audience; Recent studies have highlighted the role of multisensory integration as a key mechanism of self-consciousness. In particular, integration of bodily signals within the peripersonal space (PPS) underlies the experience of the self in a body we own (self-identification) and that is experienced as occupying a specific location in space (self-location), two main components of bodily self-consciousness (BSC). Experiments investigating the effects of multisensory integration on BSC have typically employed supra-threshold sensory stimuli, neglecting the role of unconscious sensory signals in BSC, as tested in other consciousness research. Here, we used psychophysical techniq…
The Dialectical Movement Between Deprivation and Preservation of a Person's Life Space: A Question of Nursing Home Residents' Dignity.
2016
The aim of this study was to answer the question "What do nursing home residents do themselves in order to maintain their dignity?" Twenty-eight residents, 8 men and 20 women, aged 62 to 103 years, from 6 different nursing homes in Scandinavia were interviewed. The results showed that the residents tried to expand their life space, both physical and ontological, in order to experience health and dignity.
Far Space Remapping by Tool Use: A rTMS Study Over the Right Posterior Parietal Cortex
2015
Abstract Background In previous studies, rTMS has been successfully employed to interfere with the right posterior parietal cortex (rPPC) inducing neglect-like behavior in healthy subjects. Several studies have shown that the use of tools can modulate the boundaries between near and far space: indeed when far space is reached by the stick, far space can be remapped as near. Objective The aim of the present study was to investigate whether once that rTMS on the rPPC has selectively induced neglect-like bias in the near space (but not in the far space), neglect can appears also in the far space when the subjects used a tool to perform the task. Methods Fifteen right-handed healthy subjects ex…
2019
Violations of personal space are associated with discomfort. However, the exact function linking the magnitude of discomfort to interpersonal distance has not yet been specified. In this study, we explore whether interpersonal distance and discomfort are isotropic with respect to uncomfortably far or close distances. We also extend previous findings with regard to intrusions into personal space as well as maintenance of distances outside of personal space. We presented subjects with 15 interpersonal distances ranging from 40 to 250 cm and obtained verbal and joystick-based ratings of discomfort. Whereas discomfort rose immediately when personal space was entered, the gradient was less steep…