The rubber hand universe: On the impact of methodological differences in the rubber hand illusion

Publication date: Available online 20 July 2019Source: Neuroscience & Biobehavioral ReviewsAuthor(s): Martin RiemerAbstractThe rubber hand illusion (RHI) is a widely applied paradigm to investigate changes in body representations. Extensive scientific interest has produced a great variability in the observed results and many contradictory findings have been reported. Taking into account the numerous variations in the experimental implementation of the RHI, many of these contradictive findings can be reconciled, but to date a thorough analysis of the methodological differences between RHI studies is lacking.Here we summarize and analyse methodological differences between RHI studies. In distinction from other reviews focusing on the integration of findings from various studies, the present paper is devoted to the differences in (i) the experimental setup, (ii) the method used to induce the RHI, (iii) the quantification of its effects, and (iv) aspects of the experimental design and data analysis. This approach will provide a reference frame for the interpretation of previous studies as well as for the design of future studies.Significance statementIn this theoretical paper we summarize important factors explaining why some findings in the RHI literature cannot be replicated in other study designs. It provides new insights into the impact of study design and study setting on the reproducability of experimental results.
Source: Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews - Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research