Tanja Lischetzke
Papers
2
Total Citations
239
H-Index
2
About
Tanja Lischetzke is a leading researcher in the intersection of social cognition and human-robot interaction, with a primary focus on the psychological mechanisms underlying the uncanny valley phenomenon. Her work investigates how people perceive and respond to humanoid robots, particularly when these machines blur the line between human and non-human. In her highly cited 2019 paper, "The uncanny of mind in a machine," Lischetzke and her colleagues proposed a groundbreaking framework distinguishing how robots are perceived as tools, agents, or experiencers, revealing that the uncanny feeling arises when a robot is attributed a mind but not a full emotional experience. This work, with over 200 citations, has become a cornerstone in the field. Her 2017 study further advanced understanding by using nonlinear mixed effects analysis to map the topography of the uncanny valley, showing that individuals' need for structure moderates their sensitivity to this discomfort. Lischetzke’s contributions have significantly shaped how researchers design more socially acceptable robots, and her work is widely cited in robotics, psychology, and human-computer interaction. She continues to explore how cognitive and personality factors influence our emotional responses to artificial agents.
Research Focus
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Top Papers
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