Determining Peripersonal Space Boundaries and Their Plasticity in Relation to Object and Agent Characteristics in an Immersive Virtual Environment

In this paper we examine the extent of functional reaching space, or peripersonal space, in immersive three-dimensional virtual reality. In the real world a person’s peripersonal space boundaries can be altered by factors in the environment and by social context. We completed two studies with visual and tactile stimuli to determine peripersonal space boundaries. These studies investigated whether peripersonal space boundaries in an immersive virtual environment are consistent with those in the real world, and could be altered by object and virtual agent interactions. We found that while peripersonal space boundaries were consistent with those in the real world, they were responsive to object and agent interactions. Moreover, while people’s reactions to the objects and agents varied, the peripersonal space boundaries remained consistent. These findings have potential implications for the design of virtual environments.