Community:Phantom sense
Phantom sense (or "phantom touch") is a psychological phenomena experienced among some VRChat users, where one may perceive physical sensations from actions and stimuli, from their avatar within virtual reality[1][2]. Phantom sense is a purely psychological phenomenon, as opposed to a mechanical perception of touch, similar to haptic technology or controller vibration.
Scientific evidence
There has been debate over the reality of phantom sense, but studies have been conducted that support the existence of this phenomenon[3]. Many have compared phantom sense with the placebo effect or body transfer illusion, in common terms.
When putting on a virtual reality headset, the brain might be tricked into perceiving virtual surroundings as real. Phantom sense is a psychosomatic reflex, meaning that when your brain is placed into an unfamiliar environment, your body and brain may try to operate at a heightened awareness; giving sensations or reflexes to the brain, despite the environment being entirely virtual. Users who have less experience to virtual reality may be more prone to these reflexes, however, the brain can be trained to ignore them, or embrace them.
Classic 'rubber hand' illusion
An illusion that predates virtual reality, involves an experiment where a subject is given a temporary prosthetic or rubber arm, which is placed parallel with the opposing arm.
The subject's real arm is placed out of view, while the subject watches and feels the prosthetic being touched in synchronization with their real hand. If the illusion is successful, the subject eventually can 'feel' sensations with the prosthetic.[4]
Variations
| Name | Effect |
|---|---|
| Phantom pain | People with 'phantom pain' claim they can feel pain from stimuli within VRChat, such as when their avatar is being attacked. |
| Phantom thermoreception | Users who can sense 'phantom thermoreception', claim they can feel temperature, such as heat, from stimuli within VRChat, like putting their hands over a fire. |
| Phantom smell | People with 'phantom smell', claim they can smell things such as smoke, another avatar, or other objects which naturally give off a strong smell. |
| Phantom falling | People with 'phantom falling' claim they can feel when they fall within a virtual environment. This seems to be the most common of all other forms of phantom sense[Citation Needed]. A phenomena such as this could also likely be tied to motion sickness. |
| Sneezing | Upon being touched on the nose, or 'booped', a user with a strong phantom sense might reflexively sneeze as a response. |
Supernumerary phantom limb
A user with an expressive avatar having extra limbs or appendages, such as having horns, or a tail, might attune to an avatar. Over time, they may acquire a 'phantom sense' for those parts of the body that the natural human body does not have. This phenomena is called supernumerary phantom limb. The brain might map out a portion within the motor cortex for that appendage, if the limb is perceived for an extended period of time.
See also
- Body transfer illusion on Wikipedia
- Phantom limb on Wikipedia
- Supernumerary phantom limb on Wikipedia
- Proteus effect on Wikipedia
References
- ↑ 'First Person Experience of Body Transfer in Virtual Reality' on journals.plos.org, published May 2010; retrieved February 16, 2025.
- ↑ 'Avatar Embodiment - A Standardized Questionnaire' by Tabitha Peck, Mar Gonzalez-Franco on Frontiers, published February 2021; retrieved February 16, 2025.
- ↑ 'Phantom touch illusion, an unexpected phenomenological effect of tactile gating in the absence of tactile stimulation' article on Nature.com, published September 2023; retrieved February 16, 2025.
- ↑ 'The Rubber Hand Illusion: Feeling of Ownership and Proprioceptive Drift Do Not Go Hand in Hand', published by Marieke Rohde, Massimiliano Di Luca, and Marc O Ernst to the National Library of Medicine on June 28, 2011. Retrieved January 12, 2026.
