---
type: source
id: mathur-reichling-2016-cartography
title: 'Navigating a social world with robot partners: A quantitative cartography of the Uncanny Valley'
authors:
- Maya B. Mathur
- David B. Reichling
year: 2016
venue: Cognition
volume: '146'
pages: 22-32
doi: 10.1016/j.cognition.2015.09.008
peer_review: peer-reviewed-journal
evidence_tier: B
design: Ratings of 80 objectively sampled real-world robot faces plus a controlled set of edited faces; explicit likability; implicit trust via an investment game
modality:
- robot-face
stimuli: 80 real robot faces; digitally edited face series
n_participants: null
n_note: not in abstract
topics:
- uncanny-valley
- trust
- valley-shape
summary: Demonstrated an uncanny valley in explicit likability of real robot faces that extended to implicit trust decisions; category confusion may occur but did not mediate the effect.
results:
- metric: Explicit likability
  value: uncanny valley present
  note: ''
  source_location: abstract
- metric: Implicit trust (investment game)
  value: valley extends to trust decisions
  note: driven by subtle facial-expression cues also used for humans
  source_location: abstract
- metric: Category confusion
  value: may occur; does not mediate likability effect
  note: preliminary
  source_location: abstract
moderators: []
limitations:
- Static images
- Robot faces, not synthetic human faces
mechanism_supported:
- 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'
---

# Navigating a social world with robot partners: A quantitative cartography of the Uncanny Valley

> **Source record** `mathur-reichling-2016-cartography` · 2016 · Cognition  
> **Evidence tier:** B (peer-reviewed-journal) · **Verification:** verified-abstract (compiler confidence: high)  
> **Bottom line:** Demonstrated an uncanny valley in explicit likability of real robot faces that extended to implicit trust decisions; category confusion may occur but did not mediate the effect.

## Citation {#citation}

Maya B. Mathur, David B. Reichling (2016). Navigating a social world with robot partners: A quantitative cartography of the Uncanny Valley. *Cognition*, 146, 22-32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2015.09.008

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

## Study design {#design}

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Design | Ratings of 80 objectively sampled real-world robot faces plus a controlled set of edited faces; explicit likability; implicit trust via an investment game |
| Modality | robot-face |
| Stimuli | 80 real robot faces; digitally edited face series |
| Participants (N) | not recorded |
| N detail | not in abstract |
| Topics | uncanny-valley, trust, valley-shape |

## Results {#results}

| Metric | Value | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Explicit likability | uncanny valley present |  |
| Implicit trust (investment game) | valley extends to trust decisions | driven by subtle facial-expression cues also used for humans |
| Category confusion | may occur; does not mediate likability effect | preliminary |

## Mechanism relevance {#mechanism}

`against-categorization-ambiguity`

## Limitations {#limitations}

- Static images
- Robot faces, not synthetic human faces

## 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.