Abstract

The uncanny valley is a topic for engineers, animators, and psychologists, yet uncanny emotions are without a clear definition. Across three studies, we developed an 8-item measure of unnerved feelings, finding that it was discriminable from other affective experiences. In Study 1, we conducted an exploratory factor analysis that yielded two factors; an unnerved factor, which connects to emotional reactions to the uncanny, and a disoriented factor, which connects to mental state changes more distally following uncanny experiences. Focusing on the unnerved measure, Study 2 tests the scale’s convergent and discriminant validity, concluding that participants who watched an uncanny video were more unnerved than those who watched a disgusting, fearful, or a neutral video. In Study 3, we determined that our scale detects unnerved feelings created during early 2020 by the coronavirus pandemic; a distinct source of uncanniness. These studies contribute to the psychological and interdisciplinary understanding of this strange, eerie phenomenon of being confronted with what looms just beyond our understanding.

摘要

恐怖谷是工程师、动画师和心理学家的一个话题，但对恐怖情绪没有明确的定义。在三项研究中，我们开发了一个包含 8 个项目的紧张情绪测量方法，发现它可以与其他情感体验区分开来。在研究 1 中，我们进行了探索性因素分析，得出了两个因素；一个不安的因素，它与对不可思议的情绪反应有关，而一个迷失方向的因素，与在不可思议的经历之后更远的精神状态变化有关。研究 2 着眼于不安措施，测试了该量表的收敛效度和区分效度，得出的结论是，观看离奇视频的参与者比观看令人厌恶、恐惧或中性视频的参与者更加不安。在研究 3 中，我们确定我们的量表可以检测到 2020 年初冠状病毒大流行造成的不安情绪；一个独特的离奇来源。这些研究有助于从心理学和跨学科的角度理解这种奇怪、令人毛骨悚然的现象，即面对我们无法理解的事物。