M. Fenske
Papers
1
Total Citations
107
H-Index
1
About
M. Fenske is a leading cognitive psychologist whose research illuminates the fundamental mechanisms of attention, inhibition, and emotional evaluation. Her work is best known for pioneering the “inhibition-based devaluation” account of the uncanny valley effect, a phenomenon where nearly human-like stimuli provoke aversion. In her highly cited 2015 paper (107 citations), Fenske proposed that this dislike arises not from perceptual mismatch, but from the cognitive competition and inhibition triggered when stimuli fall into ambiguous categories. This novel framework reframes the uncanny valley as a consequence of basic attentional processes, linking it to broader principles of how we evaluate and respond to our environment. Beyond this landmark contribution, Fenske’s research has systematically explored how inhibitory mechanisms shape emotional responses, demonstrating that stimuli we must suppress to resolve competition become affectively devalued. Her work has profound implications for understanding social cognition, human-robot interaction, and aesthetic preference. With a career marked by rigorous experimental design and theoretical innovation, Fenske has reshaped how researchers think about the intersection of attention, categorization, and emotion.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1