Observing the Transformation of Bodily Self-consciousness in the Squeeze-machine Experiment.
Journal of visualized experiments : JoVE March 8, 2019 Mai Minoura, Iori Tani, Takahiro Ishii et al.
A squeeze machine that applies pressure along the whole body, used by autistic people for relaxation, may transform bodily self-consciousness. The authors hypothesized that such a transformation could enable empathy for others, as claimed by the machine's inventor, Dr. Temple Grandin. In an experiment, they simplified the machine's design and measured changes in peri-personal space (PPS), the area immediately surrounding the body. During squeeze-machine use, the usual boundaries of PPS disappeared, and subjective reports indicated that bodily self-consciousness drifted between the external pressure and internal bodily forces, leading to a loss of fixed PPS boundaries. The results suggest the machine alters the sense of bodily self.