Is there an uncanny valley of virtual animals? A quantitative and qualitative investigation

Schwind, Valentin; Leicht, Kenneth L.; Jäger, Solveigh; Wolf, Katrin; Henze, Niels

doi:10.1016/j.ijhcs.2017.11.003

Cited by 47 publications

(44 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…It can be concluded that the stylization of an agent has similar effects on all kinds of species (such as humans, robots, and animals). In line with this, prior research showed that animals with atypical features such as enlarged eyes were rated as less familiar [38], which is also true for humanoid agents with stylized proportions. While in Study 1, the effects of realism degrees were bigger (higher effect sizes), in Study 2, effects of the agent's species were stronger.…”

Section: Interaction Effects Of Species and Realism (Rq3)supporting

confidence: 56%

A Two-Study Approach to Explore the Effect of User Characteristics on Users’ Perception and Evaluation of a Virtual Assistant’s Appearance

Straßmann

Krämer

2018

MTI

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This research investigates the effect of different user characteristics on the perception and evaluation of an agent's appearance variables. Therefore, two different experiments have been conducted. In a 3 × 3 × 5 within-subjects design (Study 1; N = 59), three different target groups (students, elderly, and cognitively impaired people) evaluated 30 different agent appearances that varied in species (human, animal, and robot) and realism (high detail, low detail, stylized shades, stylized proportion, and stylized shade with stylized proportion). Study 2 (N = 792) focused on the effect of moderating variables regarding the same appearance variables and aims to supplement findings of Study 1 based on a 3 × 5 between-subjects design. Results showed effects of species and realism on person perception, users' liking, and using intention. In a direct comparison, a higher degree of realism was perceived as more positive, while those effects were not replicated in Study 2. Further on, a majority evaluated nonhumanoid agents more positively. Since no interaction effects of species and realism have been found, the effects of stylization seem to equally influence the perception for all kind of species. Moreover, the importance of the target group's preference was demonstrated, since differences with regard to the appearance evaluation were found.

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Section: Interaction Effects Of Species and Realism (Rq3)supporting

confidence: 56%

A Two-Study Approach to Explore the Effect of User Characteristics on Users’ Perception and Evaluation of a Virtual Assistant’s Appearance

Straßmann

Krämer

2018

MTI

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“…Some studies instead represent the x -axis of Mori's graph as perceived realism (e.g. Schwind, Leicht, Jäger, Wolf, & Henze, 2018 ). Incremental transitions along the dimension are created by morphing ( MacDorman & Ishiguro, 2006 ), editing ( Mäkäräinen et al, 2014 ), or selecting stimuli ( Mathur et al, 2020 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Creepy cats and strange high houses: Support for configural processing in testing predictions of nine uncanny valley theories

Diel

MacDorman

2021

Journal of Vision

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In 1970, Masahiro Mori proposed the uncanny valley (UV), a region in a human-likeness continuum where an entity risks eliciting a cold, eerie, repellent feeling. Recent studies have shown that this feeling can be elicited by entities modeled not only on humans but also nonhuman animals. The perceptual and cognitive mechanisms underlying the UV effect are not well understood, although many theories have been proposed to explain them. To test the predictions of nine classes of theories, a within-subjects experiment was conducted with 136 participants. The theories’ predictions were compared with ratings of 10 classes of stimuli on eeriness and coldness indices. One type of theory, configural processing, predicted eight out of nine significant effects. Atypicality, in its extended form, in which the uncanny valley effect is amplified by the stimulus appearing more human, also predicted eight. Threat avoidance predicted seven; atypicality, perceptual mismatch, and mismatch+ predicted six; category+, novelty avoidance, mate selection, and psychopathy avoidance predicted five; and category uncertainty predicted three. Empathy's main prediction was not supported. Given that the number of significant effects predicted depends partly on our choice of hypotheses, a detailed consideration of each result is advised. We do, however, note the methodological value of examining many competing theories in the same experiment.

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“…Research on human-computer interaction (HCI) (Pan & Hamilton, 2018; Scassellati et al, 2018), human robot interaction (HRI) (Ishiguro & Nishio, 2018), and video games (Wu et al, 2018) has led to a proliferation of studies using human characters. In contrast, recent research, such as that conducted by Schwind et al (2018), has shown a lack of systematic studies on the effect of different design features for non-human artificial characters, such as animal-like characters or virtual robots, despite their growing popularity in simulated environments including learning applications.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…18-20). One of the few investigations that have been carried out on virtual animals in relation to the uncanny valley effect concerned the appearance of the character, in particular the effects of realism, stylization, and facial expressions (Schwind et al, 2018). According to the outcomes of the study, the naturalness of the virtual animal was fundamental to create the sensation of realism with the user.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Influence of Game Character Appearance on Empathy and Immersion: Virtual Non-Robotic Versus Robotic Animals

Rátiva

Postma

Zaanen³

2020

Simulation & Gaming

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Background. Empathic interactions with animated game characters can help improve user experience, increase immersion, and achieve better affective outcomes related to the use of the game. Method. We used a 2x2 between-participant design and a control condition to analyze the impact of the visual appearance of a virtual game character on empathy and immersion. The four experimental conditions of the game character appearance were: Natural (virtual animal) with expressiveness (emotional facial expressions), natural (virtual animal) with non-expressiveness (without emotional facial expressions), artificial (virtual robotic animal) with expressiveness (emotional facial expressions), and artificial (virtual robotic animal) with non-expressiveness (without emotional facial expressions). The control condition contained a baseline amorphous game character. 100 participants between 18 to 29 years old (M=22.47) were randomly assigned to one of five experimental groups. Participants originated from several countries: Aruba (1), China (1), Colombia (3), Finland (1), France (1), Germany (1), Greece (2), Iceland (1), India (1), Iran (1), Ireland (1), Italy (3), Jamaica (1), Latvia (1), Morocco (3), Netherlands (70), Poland (1), Romania (2), Spain (1), Thailand (1), Turkey (1), United States (1), and Vietnam (1). Results. We found that congruence in appearance and facial expressions of virtual animals (artificial + non-expressive and natural + expressive) leads to higher levels of self-reported situational empathy and immersion of players in a simulated environment compared to incongruent appearance and facial expressions. Conclusions. The results of this investigation showed an interaction effect between artificial/natural body appearance and facial expressiveness of a virtual character’s appearance. The evidence from this study suggests that the appearance of the virtual animal has an important influence on user experience.

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Is there an uncanny valley of virtual animals? A quantitative and qualitative investigation

Cited by 47 publications

References 39 publications

A Two-Study Approach to Explore the Effect of User Characteristics on Users’ Perception and Evaluation of a Virtual Assistant’s Appearance

A Two-Study Approach to Explore the Effect of User Characteristics on Users’ Perception and Evaluation of a Virtual Assistant’s Appearance

Creepy cats and strange high houses: Support for configural processing in testing predictions of nine uncanny valley theories

The Influence of Game Character Appearance on Empathy and Immersion: Virtual Non-Robotic Versus Robotic Animals

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