Figure 5

Discomfort ratings across a range of distances, normalized to individual personal space size. Group-average (n = 19) ratings of discomfort (the average of ratings of three statements, see text), on a Likert scale of agreement ranging from 1 (‘not at all’) to 5 (‘very much’), to variations in the distance (as a percentage of the personal space size of each subject) (x axis) in response to humans (solid line) and avatars (dotted line). Discomfort ratings were highest for both humans and avatars presented at the closest distance (25% of personal space size). Conversely, the discomfort ratings were lowest to both humans and avatars (at and near baseline of 1 = lowest possible ratings) when presented at distances further than the personal space boundary, i.e. 200% and 400% of a given subjects’ personal space size.