The proteus effect on human pain perception through avatar muscularity and gender factors.

ABSTRACT: The Proteus effect, which occurs when using an avatar in virtual reality, influences user behavior, changes attitudes, and improves physical performance. Here, we show that human pain perception can be alleviated by the Proteus effect. To investigate the pain alleviation effect of using an avatar in a virtual environment, we conducted two experiments using a head-mounted display and a thermal pain stimulator to induce acute pain. The first experiment involved 20 adult participants, while the second experiment involved 44 adult participants. Experimental results show that participants reported significantly lower pain scores (15.982% reduction), as measured by the Pain Assessment Scale (PAS), when using a muscular avatar than when using a normal avatar. The experiments also revealed several

SUBMITTER: Yim Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11632092 | biostudies-literature | 2024 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature