Children’s perception of uncanny human-like virtual characters

•We examine children’s perception of the Uncanny Valley in human-like characters.•Nine- to 11-year-olds do experience the uncanny in human-like virtual characters.•Uncanniness was exaggerated in characters with a lack of upper facial expression.•A startled facial expression was more prone to uncanniness than a happy expression.

The Uncanny Valley phenomenon predicts that humans will be less accepting, to the point of rejection, of synthetic agents with a human-like appearance. This is due to a perception of a strangeness or difference in how those characters look and behave from the human norm. Virtual characters with a human-like appearance are increasingly being used in children’s animation and video games. While studies have been conducted in adult perception of the Uncanny Valley in human-like virtual characters, little work exists that explores children’s perception of “uncanniness” in human-like virtual characters. Sixty-seven children between 9 and 11 years of age rated humans and human-like virtual characters showing different facial expressions for perceived strangeness, friendliness, and human-likeness. The results showed that children do experience uncanniness in human-like virtual characters, perceived as stranger, less friendly, and less human-like than humans. This perception of the uncanny was exaggerated further in human-like characters with aberrant facial expression. That is, when showing a startled expression and/or happiness with a lack of movement in the upper face including the eyes, eyebrows, and forehead. The possible implications of including human-like virtual characters in animation and video games for this age group are discussed.