The Uncanny Valley Manifests Even with Exposure to Robots

Perez, Jaime Alvarez; Goo, Hideki Garcia; Ramos, Ana Sánchez; Contreras, Virginia; Strait, Megan

doi:10.1145/3371382.3378312

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 6 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…109 studies focused on robots as a general category of artifacts, without distinguishing between different types of robots. Alternatively, 47 studies covered specific sub-categories of robots such as social robots [182,183], drones and aerial robots [184,185], NAO robots [186,187], or Pepper robots [188,189]. Moreover, some authors reported on participants' previous interaction (or lack thereof) with the specific robot developed used in the study.…”

Section: Domain Expertisementioning

confidence: 99%

Not Only WEIRD but “Uncanny”? A Systematic Review of Diversity in Human–Robot Interaction Research

Seaborn

Barbareschi

Chandra

2023

Int J of Soc Robotics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Critical voices within and beyond the scientific community have pointed to a grave matter of concern regarding who is included in research and who is not. Subsequent investigations have revealed an extensive form of sampling bias across a broad range of disciplines that conduct human subjects research called “WEIRD”: Western, Educated, Industrial, Rich, and Democratic. Recent work has indicated that this pattern exists within human–computer interaction (HCI) research, as well. How then does human–robot interaction (HRI) fare? And could there be other patterns of sampling bias at play, perhaps those especially relevant to this field of study? We conducted a systematic review of the premier ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (2006–2022) to discover whether and how WEIRD HRI research is. Importantly, we expanded our purview to other factors of representation highlighted by critical work on inclusion and intersectionality as potentially underreported, overlooked, and even marginalized factors of human diversity. Findings from 827 studies across 749 papers confirm that participants in HRI research also tend to be drawn from WEIRD populations. Moreover, we find evidence of limited, obscured, and possible misrepresentation in participant sampling and reporting along key axes of diversity: sex and gender, race and ethnicity, age, sexuality and family configuration, disability, body type, ideology, and domain expertise. We discuss methodological and ethical implications for recruitment, analysis, and reporting, as well as the significance for HRI as a base of knowledge.

show abstract

Section: Domain Expertisementioning

confidence: 99%

Not Only WEIRD but “Uncanny”? A Systematic Review of Diversity in Human–Robot Interaction Research

Seaborn

Barbareschi

Chandra

2023

Int J of Soc Robotics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Power-Posing Robots: The Influence of a Humanoid Robot’s Posture and Size on its Perceived Dominance, Competence, Eeriness, and Threat

Stein

Cimander

Appel

2022

Int J of Soc Robotics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

When interacting with sophisticated digital technologies, people often fall back on the same interaction scripts they apply to the communication with other humans—especially if the technology in question provides strong anthropomorphic cues (e.g., a human-like embodiment). Accordingly, research indicates that observers tend to interpret the body language of social robots in the same way as they would with another human being. Backed by initial evidence, we assumed that a humanoid robot will be considered as more dominant and competent, but also as more eerie and threatening once it strikes a so-called power pose. Moreover, we pursued the research question whether these effects might be accentuated by the robot’s body size. To this end, the current study presented 204 participants with pictures of the robot NAO in different poses (expansive vs. constrictive), while also manipulating its height (child-sized vs. adult-sized). Our results show that NAO’s posture indeed exerted strong effects on perceptions of dominance and competence. Conversely, participants’ threat and eeriness ratings remained statistically independent of the robot’s depicted body language. Further, we found that the machine’s size did not affect any of the measured interpersonal perceptions in a notable way. The study findings are discussed considering limitations and future research directions.

show abstract

A Meta-analysis of the Uncanny Valley's Independent and Dependent Variables

Diel

Weigelt

MacDorman

2021

J. Hum.-Robot Interact.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The uncanny valley (UV) effect is a negative affective reaction to human-looking artificial entities. It hinders comfortable, trust-based interactions with android robots and virtual characters. Despite extensive research, a consensus has not formed on its theoretical basis or methodologies. We conducted a meta-analysis to assess operationalizations of human likeness (independent variable) and the UV effect (dependent variable). Of 468 studies, 72 met the inclusion criteria. These studies employed 10 different stimulus creation techniques, 39 affect measures, and 14 indirect measures. Based on 247 effect sizes, a three-level meta-analysis model revealed the UV effect had a large effect size, Hedges’ g = 1.01 [0.80, 1.22]. A mixed-effects meta-regression model with creation technique as the moderator variable revealed face distortion produced the largest effect size, g = 1.46 [0.69, 2.24], followed by distinct entities, g = 1.20 [1.02, 1.38], realism render, g = 0.99 [0.62, 1.36], and morphing, g = 0.94 [0.64, 1.24]. Affective indices producing the largest effects were threatening, likable, aesthetics, familiarity , and eeriness , and indirect measures were dislike frequency, categorization reaction time, like frequency, avoidance , and viewing duration . This meta-analysis—the first on the UV effect—provides a methodological foundation and design principles for future research.

show abstract

The Uncanny Valley Manifests Even with Exposure to Robots

Cited by 4 publications

References 6 publications

Not Only WEIRD but “Uncanny”? A Systematic Review of Diversity in Human–Robot Interaction Research

Not Only WEIRD but “Uncanny”? A Systematic Review of Diversity in Human–Robot Interaction Research

Power-Posing Robots: The Influence of a Humanoid Robot’s Posture and Size on its Perceived Dominance, Competence, Eeriness, and Threat

A Meta-analysis of the Uncanny Valley's Independent and Dependent Variables

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About