Social exclusion reduces people's sense of agency and ownership over a virtual hand. In a virtual hand illusion experiment, participants who were excluded during a Cyberball game reported weaker feelings of ownership and agency and showed reduced physiological and behavioral measures of these experiences compared to included participants. Synchrony between the virtual hand and the participant's own hand strengthened both ownership and agency across all measures, but this effect was weaker for excluded individuals. The findings indicate that social context shapes fundamental aspects of self-perception.
The authors defend their proposal that natural selection favors nonveridical perceptions tuned to fitness, contrary to the textbook view that perception is normally veridical. They thank commentators who offered counterarguments and those who suggested ways to test and develop the idea, responding to each in alphabetical order. The exchange aims to advance scientific understanding of perception and its evolution.