Internal versus External References with Respect to Perception of Stimuli on the Body Surface

Abstract

Previous studies on the determinants of locus of perception of stimuli on the body have suggested that the position of the stimulus has a significant effect whether a subject perceives a tactile pattern as seen from inside or outside the body. However, it is possible that previous investigators confounded stimulus location—dorsal or frontal—and experimenter's position—behind or in front of the subject. Using 42 male subjects in a 2 × 2 design, the effects of experimenter's position and stimulus location were studied by a new technique for inferring locus of perception. Experimenter's position, rather than stimulus location, affects subjects' locus of perception. Perception of stimuli on the body involves three independent factors, (a) the demand characteristics of the experiment, (b) the manner in which an individual perceives the boundaries of his own body, and (c) an individual's ability to adopt the experimenter's perceptual standpoint.