---
type: source
id: macdorman-chattopadhyay-2016
title: Reducing consistency in human realism increases the uncanny valley effect; increasing category uncertainty does not
authors:
- Karl F. MacDorman
- Debaleena Chattopadhyay
year: 2016
venue: Cognition
volume: '146'
pages: 190-205
doi: 10.1016/j.cognition.2015.09.019
peer_review: peer-reviewed-journal
evidence_tier: B
design: 'Three rounds of experiments; categorisation and ratings of humans, animals and objects from computer-animated to real; realism consistency reduced by manipulating feature sets (for humans: eyes-eyelashes-mouth vs skin-nose-eyebrows)'
modality:
- cg-face
stimuli: Human, animal and object continua from computer-animated to real
n_participants: 548
n_note: across three rounds
topics:
- uncanny-valley
- mechanisms
summary: Reducing realism consistency made humans and animals (not objects) eerier and colder; the most category-ambiguous stimuli were neither the eeriest nor the coldest, contradicting the category-uncertainty account.
results:
- metric: Realism inconsistency → eeriness/coldness
  value: increase for humans and animals; not objects
  note: ''
  source_location: abstract
- metric: Max category uncertainty → eeriness
  value: no peak
  note: Jentsch (1906) predictions not supported
  source_location: abstract
moderators: []
limitations:
- CG stimuli
- Online samples
mechanism_supported:
- perceptual-mismatch
- against-categorization-ambiguity
verification:
  status: verified-abstract
  confidence: high
  checked: 2026-10-07
  via: Semantic Scholar API abstract
url: null
pmid: null
pmcid: null
arxiv_id: null
openalex_id: null
oa_url: null
cited_in:
- MR-0002
updated: '2026-10-07'
---

# Reducing consistency in human realism increases the uncanny valley effect; increasing category uncertainty does not

> **Source record** `macdorman-chattopadhyay-2016` · 2016 · Cognition  
> **Evidence tier:** B (peer-reviewed-journal) · **Verification:** verified-abstract (compiler confidence: high)  
> **Bottom line:** Reducing realism consistency made humans and animals (not objects) eerier and colder; the most category-ambiguous stimuli were neither the eeriest nor the coldest, contradicting the category-uncertainty account.

## Citation {#citation}

Karl F. MacDorman, Debaleena Chattopadhyay (2016). Reducing consistency in human realism increases the uncanny valley effect; increasing category uncertainty does not. *Cognition*, 146, 190-205. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2015.09.019

Verification entry (identifiers, resolvers, claims with source locations): [/data/citations.json#macdorman-chattopadhyay-2016](/data/citations.json#macdorman-chattopadhyay-2016)

## Study design {#design}

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Design | Three rounds of experiments; categorisation and ratings of humans, animals and objects from computer-animated to real; realism consistency reduced by manipulating feature sets (for humans: eyes-eyelashes-mouth vs skin-nose-eyebrows) |
| Modality | cg-face |
| Stimuli | Human, animal and object continua from computer-animated to real |
| Participants (N) | 548 |
| N detail | across three rounds |
| Topics | uncanny-valley, mechanisms |

## Results {#results}

| Metric | Value | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Realism inconsistency → eeriness/coldness | increase for humans and animals; not objects |  |
| Max category uncertainty → eeriness | no peak | Jentsch (1906) predictions not supported |

## Mechanism relevance {#mechanism}

`perceptual-mismatch`, `against-categorization-ambiguity`

## Limitations {#limitations}

- CG stimuli
- Online samples

## Cited in {#cited-in}

- [MR-0002](/metareports/uncanny-valley-and-synthetic-faces.md): The Uncanny Valley and Synthetic Media: Does It Exist, What Causes It, and Have Deepfakes Crossed It?

## Verification {#verification}

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Status | `verified-abstract` |
| Compiler confidence | high |
| Checked on | 2026-10-07 |
| Via | Semantic Scholar API abstract |

Values on this page have not all been checked against the full text. Confirm them against the primary source before high-stakes use.