When left is right: The perception of the action capabilities of mirrored hands

In virtual reality, observers readily calibrate to the bodies of digital human characters and consider changes to these in estimates of their action capabilities. This study investigates whether such calibration persists when somatosensory and visual information specifying the spatial location of limbs are incongruent. Across four experiments, virtual hand size and location was manipulated systematically while participants were placed in an immersive environment. Participants performed a calibration exercise to gain experience with the virtual hand before estimating their perceived grasping and reaching capabilities. In all experiments, observers consistently calibrated to the virtual hands and considered this in their perceived grasping and reaching estimates. This demonstrates that the properties of an artificial limb are integrated into observers’ perception of their action capabilities, even when conditions for embodiment are not optimal.