Einstein can help brush up your brain!

Being in the virtual body of the great scientist can help people with low self-esteem score better on cognitive tests

The perception of having Albert Einstein’s body may help unlock previously inaccessible mental resources, finds a new study. Following a virtual reality “Einstein” experience, participants were less likely to unconsciously stereotype older people while those with low self-esteem scored better on cognitive tests.

“Virtual reality can create the illusion of a virtual body to substitute your own, which is called virtual embodiment,” says Professor Mel Slater of the University of Barcelona. “In an immersive virtual environment, participants can see this new body reflected in a mirror and it exactly matches their movements, helping to create a powerful illusion that the virtual body is their own.”

Previous research found that virtual embodiment can have striking effects on attitudes and behaviour.

“If we gave someone a recognisable body that represents supreme intelligence, such as that of Albert Einstein, would they perform better on a cognitive task than people given a normal body?”, said Slater

To find out, the researchers recruited 30 young men to participate in a virtual embodiment experiment. Prior to the embodiment, the participants completed three tests: a cognitive task to reveal their planning and problem-solving skills; a task to quantify their self-esteem; and one to identify any implicit bias towards older people. The study participants then donned a body-tracking suit and a virtual reality headset. Half experienced a virtual Einstein body and the other half a normal adult body.

The researchers found that people with low self-esteem performed the cognitive task better following the virtual Einstein experience, compared with those who experienced a normal body of someone their own age.

Bias is based on considering someone to be different from yourself. Being in an older body may have subtly changed the participants’ attitudes by blurring the distinction between elderly people and themselves.

Similarly, being in the body of someone extremely intelligent may have caused the participants to think about themselves differently, allowing them to unlock mental resources that they don’t normally access.