Rubber Hand Illusion
Hacking the Body Schema: where does 'You' end?
🧐 What do you see?▼
In this demonstration, you see a dummy hand being stroked by a brush in perfect synchrony with your own hidden hand.
Users often report a bizarre sensation where they begin to "own"the dummy hand, feeling the touch exactly where they see the brush hitting the rubber.
🧠 Why this works▼
This is a breakdown of Multisensory Integration. Your brain receives conflicting signals:
- Vision: "I see a hand being touched here."
- Touch: "I feel a touch here."
- Proprioception: "My real hand is actually over there."
Because the visual and tactile sessions are perfectly synced, the brain decides that vision is the most reliable cue and "overwrites" your sense of where your body is.
🧪 Try variations▼
Speed: Adjust the speed of the stroking. If the strokes become too irregular or the sync is slightly off, the illusion often collapses instantly.
❓ FAQ▼
Why does this happen?
It demonstrates that our "Body Schema" is not hard-wired at birth but is constantly updated through sensory feedback. It's the same mechanism that allows us to use tools like they are extensions of our fingers.