The uncanny valley effect and immune activation in virtual reality.

ABSTRACT: The uncanny valley effect describes a phenomenon where humanoid, almost lifelike virtual agents evoke feelings of discomfort in the observers. The Pathogen Avoidance Hypothesis proposes that these feelings are based on a cognitive mechanism that originally evolved to motivate pathogen avoidance. Slight imperfections in virtual agents are thereby misconceived as cues of communicable diseases that elicit disgust and avoidance behavior. Whether uncanny entities also increase mucosal immune responses, particularly when immediate avoidance is impossible, currently remains elusive. The present study examined the link between the uncanny valley and mucosal immune responses by comparing changes in the salivary antibody secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA). For this, we developed three sets of virtual

SUBMITTER: Diekhof EK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12365102 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature