We implicitly empathize with virtual agents: the effect of motor simulation

Interacting with virtual agents (VAs) is becoming a quite common experience in our modern society. Therefore, it is important to explore the psychological mechanisms underlying the “hybrid” virtual-human social interaction. To this end, here we test whether motor simulation mechanisms affect localization in near or far space even when involving a virtual agent. In an Immersive Virtual Reality scenario, either VA or participants could have their arms blocked (motor interference) and could stand at a close (i.e., reachable) or far (i.e., unreachable) distance from each other. Participants had to perform a task that implicitly prompted them to consider each other’s space, that is, they had to judge whether a glass was closer to themselves (thus pointing to their own space) or to a VA (thus pointing to the other’s space). The results showed that when VAs and participants were at a near distance, VAs were blocked and the glass was closer to them, spatial judgments were slower than other conditions. This shows a strong effect of perceived motor interference in the VA. In contrast, when the participants and VAs were far apart, judgments were slower with the VA blocked only when the object was closer to the participant, i.e., within the participant’s reach. The slowdown in perceiving the blocked virtual agent may reflect a mechanism of identification and motor simulation that individuals implicitly activate, especially if virtual agents are near them.