Real vs ideal : the effect of virtual body ownership on body satisfaction

Background Body dissatisfaction is often described as the result of a perceived discrepancy between one’s own and one’s ideal body. Arguably, two possible ways to address this discrepancy are to attain the ideal body or to alter perceptions regarding the own, real body. In our study, we tested both approaches using Virtual Reality (VR). Method In VR, participants experienced ownership over a virtual body that either (1) closely resembled their own body or (2) closely resembled their ideal body, based on the participant’s indications on a figure rating scale. With this paradigm, we assessed whether participants evaluated the virtual body differently than their real body in terms of body satisfaction, and whether the experience of the virtual body affected people’s body dissatisfaction with their real body afterwards, as measured with the Body Images State Scale. In total, 40 female college students (aged 18 to 25) participated in the experiment. Findings & Discussion We found that, overall, body dissatisfaction with the real body was lower after the VR experience compared to before. Specifically, women who experienced ownership over the ideal virtual body rather than the own virtual body felt less dissatisfied with their real physical appearance after the VR experience. Additionally, women were overall more dissatisfied with their virtual body compared to their real body. Our findings suggest that VR offers promising opportunities for intervention programmes that aim to decrease body image problems.