The audio/visual mismatch and the uncanny valley: an investigation using a mismatch in the human realism of facial and vocal aspects of stimuli

Abstract

Empirical research on the uncanny valley has primarily been concerned with visual elements. The current study is intended to show how manipulating auditory variables of the stimuli affect participant’s ratings. The focus of research is to investigate whether an uncanny valley effect occurs when humans are exposed to stimuli that have an incongruity between auditory and visual aspects. Participants were exposed to sets of stimuli which are both congruent and incongruent in their levels of audio/visual humanness. Explicit measures were used to explore if a mismatch in the human realism of facial and vocal aspects produces an uncanny valley effect and attempt to explain a possible cause of this effect. Results indicate that an uncanny valley effect occurs when humans are exposed to stimuli that have an incongruity between auditory and visual aspects.