Contagious yawning in virtual reality is affected by actual, but not simulated, social presence.

ABSTRACT: Contagious yawning occurs in humans and a few other highly social animals following the detection of yawns in others, yet the factors influencing the propagation of this response remain largely unknown. Stemming from earlier laboratory research, we conducted five experiments to investigate the effects of social presence on contagious yawning in virtual reality (VR). We show that, similar to a traditional laboratory setting, having a researcher present during testing significantly inhibited contagious yawning in VR, even though participants were viewing a virtual environment and unable to see the researcher. Unlike previous research, however, manipulating the social presence in VR (i.e., embedding recording devices and humanoid avatars within the simulation) did not affect contagious yawnin

SUBMITTER: Gallup AC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6342947 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature