Sasin Research Seminar - Uncanny Valleys and Hills: How Categorization Ambiguity and Affective Signals Shape Consumer Evaluation

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Uncanny Valleys and Hills: How Categorization Ambiguity and Affective Signals Shape Consumer Evaluation

By: Yanliang Chu, PhD., Marketing at the Tippie College of Business, University of Iowa Date: Friday, June 19, 2026 Time: 12.00-13.00 Venue: Room 201 at Sasin School of Management or online via Zoom Register here to reserve your seat Abstract: The uncanny valley is often understood as a negative reaction to entities that are almost, but not fully, humanlike. This presentation broadens that idea by examining uncanny responses as a more general consequence of category ambiguity. When a stimulus falls between familiar categories, it can become harder to classify, reduce processing fluency, and lower evaluation. However, ambiguity does not always produce a valley. Depending on the valence of the endpoint categories, ambiguity may also produce an “uncanny hill,” in which an intermediate object is evaluated more favorably than two disliked endpoints. This research examines the joint effects of categorization ambiguity, endpoint valence, and affective signaling across four studies. The studies test whether real and unreal stimuli are categorized at different abstraction levels, whether positive-valence dog–robot morphs produce strong valleys, whether negative-valence crocodile–robot morphs alter this pattern, and whether similar effects appear in marketing-relevant product morphs such as cars. The findings suggest that categorization ambiguity shapes the evaluative curve, valence determines whether the response becomes a valley or a hill, and affective signaling determines how deep the negative response becomes.   For more information please contact +66-2218-4000 ext. 84095 or [email protected].