Investigating the uncanny valley for hands: what makes a hand human?

The concept of the ‘Uncanny valley’ was coined to describe a phenomenon in robotics, whereby people feel more affinity to robots as they become more humanlike, but humanoid robots which very closely resemble the human form are found to be odd and unnerving (Mori, 1970). Although the term is over 30 years old, empirical tests and psychological investigations of the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon remain limited (for a review, see Kätsyri et al., 2015). Mori hypothesised that artificial (prosthetic) hands would fall into the uncanny valley and we were the first to confirm this empirically, using ratings of pictures of static hands (Poliakoff et al., 2013). This PhD would take this work as a starting point to explore further unanswered questions. For example, Mori hypothesised that movement would accentuate the uncanny valley, but this hypothesis remains under-tested and it is not known how movement would integrate with other features (such as colour and texture).

It is also important to investigate behaviour towards ‘uncanny’ stimuli. People show visuomotor priming (or automatic imitation) when they view human versus non-human hand movements (Gowen & Poliakoff, 2012) but it not known whether people show this effect for hands that appear uncanny. Finally, the effect of experience on responses to these stimuli warrants further exploration (e.g. experience with people with prosthetic limbs or with video games with animated humans/hands).This area of work has implications for theoretical accounts of the uncanny valley and human perception, as well as broader relevance for the development of realistic and likeable animations, robots and prosthetics.

The successful candidate will be trained in a wide range of research skills including designing behavioural experiments, measuring eye movements, reaction times and physiological responses, as well as public engagement.

Candidates are expected to hold, or about to obtain, a minimum upper second class undergraduate degree (or equivalent) in psychology, cognitive neuroscience, neuroscience, sports science or another related subject. A Masters degree in a relevant subject would be an advantage.

This 3-year full-time PhD is open to candidates able to provide evidence of self-arranged funding/ sponsorship and is due to commence from January 2017 onwards.

Any enquiries relating to the project and/or suitability should be directed to Dr Poliakoff ([Email Address Removed]). Applications are invited on an on-going basis but early expression of interest is encouraged.