140 ◾ The Uncanny Valley in Games and Animation
been perceived as odd. For example, if a student greeted HCA with a jovial
and loud “Hi there!” while beaming a large smile but he greeted them back
with a much less intense smile and a more controlled, monotone voice,
then the student may have perceived that HCA had a colder, stricter per-
sonality and may not have understood how happy and excited they were
to see him. If, while exploring HCA’s study, a student discovered a secret
book to help solve a task that made them gasp in delight but HCA did not
share their excitement as the student may have expected him to and he
appeared unmoved, then the student may have perceived that he was not
aware of them or their actions.
With regards to the character graphics and believability, Corradini
et al. (2009) stated that the increased realism increased how entertain-
ing HCA (and the learning environment) were perceived to be, yet there
were noticeable limitations in HCA’s behavior that did not match his
human- like appearance. “Children appreciated the life- like animations
and graphical appearance of the character judging that ‘e good graph-
ics also makes it (the system) entertaining …’ However, the repertoire of
HCA’s actions was sometimes perceived as rather limited” (p. 366). Other
factors such as speech recognition, body movements and limitations in
HCA’s knowledge domain may also have contributed to this feedback
in how limited HCA was perceived to be. Yet I propose that a percep-
tion of a lack of facial mimicry and reciprocal response to show that HCA
shared and understood the students’ emotions and thoughts may have
reduced the overall believability for this character. is not only may
have put the students o interacting with HCA but also may have raised
anxiety in students and had a negative impact on their ability to learn
from him and the e- learning environment.
To ensure smooth interaction with HCA (or other human- like rela-
tional characters) as well as to keep track of what has been said, the system
interface has to plan the next response and simultaneously present and
update its emotional state (Corradini et al., 2009). e modules designed
to carry out these multiple tasks need to run in synchrony as any delay in
(or lack of) mimicry response may be perceived as eortful and unnatural,
putting the user o. In the same way as in real life, when the quality of
social interaction may be reduced if there is a perceived lack of facial mim-
icry in those with Moebius syndrome (Bogart and Matsumoto, 2010a), the
interactant may perceive that the human- like relational character lacks
the ability to understand them. As well as feeling misunderstood, they
may regard the character as insincere and rude due to their limited or
The Mind’s Mirror and the Uncanny ◾ 141
inappropriate response to them. ose creating human- like relational
characters have acknowledged that it is a great challenge for the research
community and developers to deliver appropriate, engaging multimodal
behavior in a human- like character that meets every possible situa-
tion in social interaction, especially to prevent interruption of the ow
of interaction and misinterpretation between the character and human
(Allen et al., 2001; Busine, Abrilian and Martin, 2004; Corradini et al.,
2009). An increase in detail and accuracy of reciprocal NVC in the upper
face, if the lower face is constrained by speech, may improve a student’s
engagement and interaction with a human- like relational character and,
in this way, may help their degree of learning from the character. If stu-
dents become frustrated at not being acknowledged and understood, due
to (among other things) a lack of facial mimicry in a character, then this
may have a detrimental impact on their ability and willingness to learn
from a human- like relational character. Unless a seamless and contextual
mimicry response can be achieved with human- like relational characters
(such as HCA) then I suggest it may be advisable not to include characters
with a highly human- like appearance in applications designed for learn-
ing purposes. While increased levels of character realism may create an
initial wow factor and impress students, can student expectations then be
fullled and maintained? Feedback from students about HCA may have
been more positive had the level in realism in his appearance been reduced
to match his more limited behavior. erefore, a more simplied human-
like appearance may have reduced expectations in the students as to how
HCA should respond to them. A reduced human- like and more stylized
appearance (less like Milo’s Mom and more like Mr.Incredible) may be
benecial for such characters to aid student interaction and learning.
However, more work is required to assess the eect of pursuing increased
levels of realism for characters in serious or educational games on student
experience and learning.
6.5 THE UNCANNY IN HUMANS
Bogart and Matsumoto (2010b) stated that future work should focus on
viewer perception of emotion in those with conditions that limit facial move-
ment, such as Moebius syndrome, and how a perceived lack of facial mim-
icry may disrupt smooth social interaction. “Future studies should examine
how others interpret the emotions of people with Moebius syndrome, and
how the lack of facial mimicry in people with the condition aects social
interaction” (p. 249). Building on this, I put forward that the issues Bogart
142 ◾ The Uncanny Valley in Games and Animation
addressed in her explorations of those with Moebius syndrome extend to
viewer perception of the uncanny, not only in human- like virtual charac-
ters, but in humans too. With regards to human to human interaction, it
has been highlighted that alternative, neurological processes that serve as a
compensatory mechanism for those with an inability to mimic others’ facial
expressions may take a lifetime to develop and even then, the process of emo-
tion recognition may not be as ‘seamless’ and congruent as in those without
such conditions (see Bogart and Matsumoto, 2010b; Goldman and Sripada,
2005). erefore, this may contribute to a delayed response that interrupts a
more ecient, natural ow of reciprocal interaction, to the extent that one
perceives a dierence or strangeness about that individual. However, what
happens when people experience a novel or temporary reduction in facial
movement that prevents facial mimicry in adulthood, such as people who
have had facial cosmetic procedures such as Botox to reduce movement (and
wrinkles) in the face, including the region around the eye, the brows and
forehead? Do the same compensatory processes kick in to compensate for a
lack of facial mimicry as those who have had congenital facial paralysis con-
ditions do, or would they not have had the time and experience required to
develop such skills and compensatory techniques? Empirical research and
reports in new media suggest the latter, and cosmetic procedures to limit
facial expression may also inhibit social interaction.
As a result of this impaired facial movement, associations of the
uncanny have been made with people in society and those in the public
eye who have had Botox and facial cosmetic work (see, e.g., Etco, 2000;
Lam, 2013). ose contributing to an online Escapist discussion forum
about the Uncanny Valley eect stated that they associated the strange
appearance of people who have had Botox with the Uncanny Valley, to
the extent that they were repulsed: “Aer seeing a lot of people use Botox
… I am nding myself experience an uncanny valley eect toward the
people who use it … e more work people have done pushes them further
down the valley to a point of near revulsion.” Another likened the appear-
ance of a celebrity to that of a mutant creature: “Joan Rivers, for example,
looks like an alien came to Earth, took the skin from someone’s face and
stretched it over their own head as a disguise” (Escapist, 2011, p. 1). Even
plastic surgeons are becoming acutely aware of the growing association
between the Uncanny Valley phenomenon and those who have had facial
cosmetic procedures to enhance or mute parts of the face. On his web-
site, plastic surgeon Dr.Samuel Lam disclosed how patients considering
cosmetic procedures are worried that they may simulate the “weird” and
The Mind’s Mirror and the Uncanny ◾ 143
“frightening” appearance of others who have had facial work: “One of the
biggest concerns that I have from prospective patients is that they not look
weird, the fear stemming from seeing unnatural celebrities that are fright-
ening to them in magazines and on television” (2013, p. 1).
However, the question still remains as to why we perceive a dierence
or strangeness as uncanny in those who have had Botox? I propose that, as
with human- like virtual characters with aberrant facial expression, it is a
perception of a lack of empathy in that Botox individual toward us due to
a lack of emotional contagion, to the extent that they may pose a possible
threat toward us, evoking the uncanny. Empirical research into emotion
recognition in Botox patients conducted by Dr.David Havas et al. (2010),
a psychologist at the University of Wisconsin– Madison, oers support for
my theory. Havas and his team designed an experiment to assess the role
of participants’ facial movement and nervous system in their comprehen-
sion of emotive sentences. A total of 41 people who wished to have Botox
treatments for the rst time to reduce their frown lines were recruited
to take part in before- and- aer experiments (Havas et al., 2010). On the
rst occasion, before Botox treatment, participants read sentences that
described angry, happy and sad scenarios and were then required to press
a keyboard button once they had understood each sentence. Example sen-
tences included, “Reeling from the ght with that stubborn bigot, you slam
the car door” (anger; p. 896) or, “You hold back your tears as you enter the
funeral home” (sadness; p. 896). en, two weeks aer Botox treatment
to disable muscles involved with the frown action, including the corruga-
tor supercilii muscle that moves the eyebrows downward and creates deep
vertical wrinkles between the brows, participants read the angry, happy
and sad questions again. is time participants’ responses were found to
be signicantly slower in reading and understanding the angry and sad
sentences (Havas et al., 2010). Botox had impaired not only emotional
expression but also emotion recognition and the ability to process emo-
tional language. Without movement of the muscles involved in the frown
action, the involuntary, automatic process of simulating emotions such as
anger and sadness using facial muscles and nerves was prevented. I sug-
gest that those who have had Botox may not have acquired an ecient and
eective kinesthetic (neurological) feedback compensatory mechanism
to understand emotion without facial mimicry. As such, they may expe-
rience a reduction in their ability to empathize with negative emotional
situations, and this may have a detrimental eect on social interaction and
how empathetic others perceive them to be. Havas remarked that Botox
144 ◾ The Uncanny Valley in Games and Animation
dampens our ability for emotional contagion: “Botox induces a kind of
mild, temporary cognitive blindness to information in the world, social
information about the emotions of other people” (quoted in Barron, 2010).
is correlates with my explanation of the uncanny in human- like virtual
characters with aberrant facial expression in that we fail to see an appro-
priate response in them to us (and others), which makes us feel uncomfort-
able. ey are perceived as unresponsive and cold, as if blind to another’s
feelings. erefore, uncanniness occurs in those who have had Botox due
to a perception of a lack of empathy in that person toward us. Emotional
contagion and the process of sharing another’s thoughts and feelings are
qualities that make us human, and if Botox reduces our ability to do this
then we may be regarded as less human- like and stranger. Paradoxically,
people may have Botox with the expectation that they will be perceived as
more attractive and likeable without evidence of wrinkles and expression
on their face. As I have found with uncanny, human- like virtual charac-
ters, however, we may be confused as to their emotional state and alerted
to the fact that they cannot recognize our emotion and understand us
properly, which means we cannot engage or connect with them. In this
way the uncanny may occur on a human- to- human level, based on aber-
rant facial expression in an individual. Building on the issues raised thus
far, in the next chapter I address how a lack of facial mimicry opportu-
nity may prevent us from forging an attachment with a character and may
threaten concept of the self and ego.
REFERENCES
Allen, J. F., Byron, D. K., Dzikovska, M., Ferguson, G., Galescu, L. and Stent, A.
(2001) “Towards conversational human– computer interaction,” AI Magazine,
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Barron, J. (2010) “Botox blunts the blues (a little),” Baseline of Health.
Retrieved February 21, 2014, from http://jonbarron.org/article/
botox- blunts- blues- little.
Bell, L. and Gustafson, J. (2003) “Child and adult speaker adaptation during error
resolution in a publicly available spoken dialogue system,” in Proceedings of
Eurospeech 2003, Geneva, Switzerland, pp.613–616.
Blake, R. and Shirar, M. (2007) “Perception of human motion,” Annual Review of
Psychology, vol. 58, pp.47–73.
Blakeslee, S. (2006) “Cells that read minds” New York Times. Retrieved February21,
2014, from http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/10/science/10mirr.html.
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