A stimulus exposure of 50 ms elicits the uncanny valley effect.

The uncanny valley (UV) effect captures the observation that artificial entities with near-human appearances tend to create feelings of eeriness. Researchers have proposed many hypotheses to explain the UV effect, but the visual processing mechanisms of the UV have yet to be fully understood. In the present study, we examined if the UV effect is as accessible in brief stimulus exposures compared to long stimulus exposures (Experiment 1). Forty-one participants, aged 21-31, rated each human-robot face presented for either a brief (50 ms) or long duration (3 s) in terms of attractiveness, eeriness, and humanness (UV indices) in a 7-point Likert scale. We found that brief and long exposures to stimuli generated a similar UV effect. This suggests that the UV effect is accessible at early visual processing. We then examined the effect of exposure duration on the categorisation of visual stimuli in Experiment 2. Thirty-three participants, aged 21-31, categorised faces as either human or robot in a two-alternative forced choice task. Their response accuracy and variance were recorded. We found that brief stimulus exposures generated significantly higher response variation and errors than the long exposure condition. This indicated that participants were more uncertain in categorising faces in the brief exposure condition due to insufficient time. Further comparisons between Experiment 1 and 2 revealed that the eeriest faces were not the hardest to categorise. Overall, these findings indicate (1) that both the UV effect and categorical uncertainty can be elicited through brief stimulus exposure, but (2) that categorical uncertainty is unlikely to cause the UV effect. These findings provide insights towards the perception of robotic faces and implications for the design of robots, androids, avatars, and artificial intelligence agents.

Masks and Faces in the Setting at the Time of Coronavirus.

The "health emergency" forced analysts to seek new ways of continuing with analysis. The article focuses, in particular, on the changes brought about in the setting by the presence of the sanitary mask, following a line that begins with the theme of the "mask" in the collective uses of human cultures, and develops through the Jungian concept of persona, as opposed to the "face" that may convey an authentic image of oneself. A clinical vignette illustrates the issues that the mask raises in the setting by obstructing the communication of emotions. When there is no transformative processing of concrete data, "unmasking" can also lead to an uncanny encounter and to moments of darkness and confusion in analysis, when the analyst experiences the kind of "unconscious identity" between therapist and patient that Jung defined as nigredo. The article is intended as a contribution to the analytic community's current reflections on the new and unforeseen challenges encountered in analysis at the time of the Coronavirus. It is possible to learn from these experiences with a view to integrating new elements and thus modify one's own internal setting, the compass with which each analyst orientates himself.

'L'urgence sanitaire' a forcé les analystes à rechercher de nouvelles manières de poursuivre le travail analytique. Cet article met l'accent en particulier sur les changements survenus dans le cadre du fait du port du masque sanitaire; l'article suit un fil conducteur qui commence avec le thème du 'masque' dans les usages collectifs des cultures humaines et se poursuit avec le concept Jungien de persona, en opposition avec le 'visage' qui peut communiquer une image authentique de soi. Une vignette clinique illustre les problèmes que le masque soulève dans la situation analytique en entravant la communication d'émotions. Quand il n'y a pas de processus de transformation des données concrètes, 'démasquer' peut également mener à une rencontre étrange et à des moments de ténèbres et de confusion dans l'analyse, quand l'analyste fait l'expérience du type 'd'identité inconsciente' entre le thérapeute et le patient que Jung a défini comme nigredo. Cet article a pour but de contribuer aux réflexions actuelles de la communauté analytique en ce qui concerne les défis nouveaux et inattendus rencontrés dans l'analyse dans la période du Coronavirus. Il est possible de tirer des leçons de ces expériences afin d'intégrer de nouveaux éléments et ainsi de modifier notre propre cadre interne, la boussole avec laquelle chaque analyste s'oriente.

La "emergencia sanitaria" obligó a los analistas a buscar nuevas formas de continuar con el análisis. El artículo se centra, en particular, en los cambios provocados en el encuadre analítico por la presencia de la mascarilla sanitaria. Presenta un desarrollo a partir del tema de la "máscara" en los usos colectivos de las culturas humanas, y continúa a través del concepto junguiano de persona, en contraposición al de "rostro", el cual puede transmitir una imagen auténtica de uno mismo. Una viñeta clínica ilustra los problemas que plantea la máscara en el entorno al obstruir la comunicación de las emociones. Cuando no hay un procesamiento transformador de los datos concretos, el "desenmascaramiento" también puede conducir a un encuentro misterioso y a momentos de oscuridad y confusión en el análisis, cuando el analista experimenta una forma de "identidad inconsciente" entre terapeuta y paciente que Jung definió como nigredo. El artículo pretende ser una contribución a las reflexiones actuales de la comunidad analítica sobre los nuevos e imprevistos desafíos encontrados en el análisis en la época del Coronavirus. Es posible aprender de estas experiencias con vistas a integrar nuevos elementos y así modificar la propia configuración interna, la brújula con la que cada analista se orienta.

Experimental manipulation of uncanny feeling does not increase adherence to conspiracy theories.

Research over the past decade has shown that endorsement of conspiracy theories (CTs) is shaped by motivated cognition processes. Accordingly, CTs are theorized to stem from compensatory processes, as individuals attempt to cope with existential threats (i.e., uncertainty, loss of control). Based on the meaning maintenance model, we investigated whether this compensatory effect could follow from epistemic threats in domains unrelated to CTs in the form of uncanniness. Feelings of uncanniness were experimentally manipulated through exposure to absurdist art and literature in a set of five studies, followed by a mini meta-analysis (Ntotal = 1,041). We conducted a final, preregistered sixth study (N = 266) manipulating uncanniness through autobiographical recall. No robust evidence for a compensatory effect was found. We discussed methodological and conceptual limitations of the meaning maintenance model, as well as boundary conditions under which conspiracy theories could have a compensatory function to deal with threats.

Moral Uncanny Valley revisited - how human expectations of robot morality based on robot appearance moderate the perceived morality of robot decisions in high conflict moral dilemmas.

In recent years a new sub-field of moral psychology has emerged: moral psychology of AI and robotics. In this field there are several outstanding questions on how robot appearance and other perceived properties of the robots influences the way their decisions are evaluated. Researchers have observed that robot decision are not treated identically to human decisions, even if their antecedents and consequences are identical to human decisions. To study this moral judgment asymmetry effect further, two studies with a series of high conflict moral dilemmas were conducted: Study 1 - which used photorealistic full body imagery -- revealed that utilitarian decisions by human or non-creepy (i.e., nice) looking robotic agents were less condemned than "creepy" (i.e., unease inducing) robots, whereas "creepy" robots received higher moral approval when making deontological decisions. Furthermore, an exploratory analysis demonstrated that the creepiest robot did not cause moral surprise or disappointment when making utilitarian decisions. However, Study 2 showed that mere symbolic representation of the agent's face did not trigger the Moral Uncanny Valley (where decisions of creepy robots are perceived negatively), suggesting that the effect is dependent on the photorealistic appearance of the agent. These results are in tension with some previous findings in robot moral judgment literature. Future research should focus on creating standardized stimuli for studying moral decisions involving robots and elucidating the complex interactions between agent appearance, decision type, and pre-decision expectations. This work deepens our understanding of the relationship between a decision-making agent's appearance and the moral judgment of their decisions. The findings have significant implications for the design and implementation of autonomous agents in morally charged situations.

Asynchrony enhances uncanniness in human, android, and virtual dynamic facial expressions.

OBJECTIVE: Uncanniness plays a vital role in interactions with humans and artificial agents. Previous studies have shown that uncanniness is caused by a higher sensitivity to deviation or atypicality in specialized categories, such as faces or facial expressions, marked by configural processing. We hypothesized that asynchrony, understood as a temporal deviation in facial expression, could cause uncanniness in the facial expression. We also hypothesized that the effect of asynchrony could be disrupted through inversion. RESULTS: Sixty-four participants rated the uncanniness of synchronous or asynchronous dynamic face emotion expressions of human, android, or computer-generated (CG) actors, presented either upright or inverted. Asynchrony vs. synchrony expressions increased uncanniness for all upright expressions except for CG angry expressions. Inverted compared with upright presentations produced less evident asynchrony effects for human angry and android happy expressions. These results suggest that asynchrony can cause dynamic expressions to appear uncanny, which is related to configural processing but different across agents.

Effi Briest: The Uncanny, sexuality, and trauma.

Here the author draws on Theodor Fontane's 1895 novel Effi Briest to consider the links between Freud's paper "The Uncanny" and his elaboration of the trauma of sexuality and the après-coup. Conceptualizing trauma in contemporary clinical theory inevitably draws on the theory of the après-coup: the blow that is inflicted on the psyche when the impact of the early event is retranscribed at a later date. The author considers the trauma that Effi experiences, not the catastrophic trauma of death or assault but the deceptive trauma, is disguised as an unparalleled opportunity for Effi. Her story highlights the trauma of sexuality and the incestuous Oedipal dimension. In the cruel economy of incestuous exchange across the generations Effi, in what she experiences as dreary incarceration, is left isolated with her libidinal yearnings. Arguing that Effi as a seventeen-year-old girl is drawn into the incestuous world of her parents and the mother's suitor Innstetten, the author describes how the trauma involving the denial of her sexuality leads to her being ostracized and facing psychic death. Captured in the deferred maternal desire, Effi unknowingly becomes part of a system of incestuous exchange. This is a trauma that is only known in the après-coup.

The inversion effect on the cubic humanness-uncanniness relation in humanlike agents.

The uncanny valley describes the typically nonlinear relation between the esthetic appeal of artificial entities and their human likeness. The effect has been attributed to specialized (configural) processing that increases sensitivity to deviations from human norms. We investigate this effect in computer-generated, humanlike android and human faces using dynamic facial expressions. Angry and happy expressions with varying degrees of synchrony were presented upright and inverted and rated on their eeriness, strangeness, and human likeness. A sigmoidal function of human likeness and uncanniness ("uncanny slope") was found for upright expressions and a linear relation for inverted faces. While the function is not indicative of an uncanny valley, the results support the view that configural processing moderates the effect of human likeness on uncanniness and extend its role to dynamic facial expressions.

Performing the Manhattan Project in Los Alamos.

Los Alamos, New Mexico has an enduring and complicated relationship with its past. During World War II, its residents worked to create the world's first atomic weapons. The nuclear legacies of the Manhattan Project are global, but in contemporary Los Alamos the Project is often primarily considered a local history before a national or international one. The community's modern identity is constructed in part through creating its history, and this article studies two children's performances of the Manhattan Project past. The plots of these performances attempt to sidestep difficult history by avoiding nuclear weapons, which can ironically raise their uncanny specter in the imagination of the audience. The community history created in the performances privileges white scientist perspectives and at times flattens differences between past and present. This performed Manhattan Project is not only domestic - Los Alamos domesticates its complex history through these performances.

Uncanny Teletherapy: Working with Extimacy.

Responses to the question of teletherapy have multiplied over the past decades, yet many therapists are grappling with the challenges and opportunities of teletherapy for the first time in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. For many clinicians, teletherapy was, at least initially, unfamiliar and unsettling. Much of the literature construes teletherapy as a degradation of an original-incapable of providing the intimacy achieved and maintained in two-bodies-in-a-room therapy-or as a good enough simulation. Both positions risk enshrining the consulting room as offering an unmediated scene of therapy. An alternative approach to the strangeness, distance, and mediations so prominent in the transition to teletherapy takes up a qualified sense of Freud's concept of the uncanny: the "minimal uncanny" and its reformulation in Lacanian theory as extimacy, a lens through which to explore intimacy and bodily proximity in the transition to teletherapy. Through the logic of extimacy, a theoretical view emerges that approaches teletherapy not as a poor substitute for real therapy, or a good enough substitute, but as an exemplary case of the therapeutic encounter.

The Paradoxical Home and Body in Jennifer Johnston's The Christmas Tree (1981).

Jennifer Johnston's fiction presents the conditions of Irish culture and society by exploring the separations between interior and exterior realms and past and present temporalities persisting within the insulating privacy of the familial home space. In The Christmas Tree (1981), the home is both haven and prison for Johnston's heroine. In this paper, I argue that the home-which assumes the form of the individual body and the familial home-is paradoxical. The protagonist leaves 1950s Ireland because of the country's rigid gender roles in order to pursue an autonomous life as a writer in England, but she is unable to publish her writing within the confines of the patriarchal publishing world. The home of her body becomes paradoxical when she becomes a single mother as an avenue for creativity but is then diagnosed with terminal cancer. She returns to her father's home to die, which she re-orders and reclaims through the disorder of the uncanny-represented by her non-conformity and illness brought into the patriarchal home. By writing her life story and creating a brief, alternative maternal relationship with her young caretaker, the protagonist confronts her own ambivalence toward her parents, who also represent aspects of oppressive heteronormative gender expectations.

Reflexo e sombra: o duplo e o narcisismo em hoffmann e chamisso / Reflection and shadow: the double and the narcissism in hoffmann and chamisso / Reflejo y penumbra: el doble y el narcisismo en hoffman y chamisso

Esta é uma pesquisa qualitativa, em formato de ensaio, que realiza o estudo comparado de duas obras literárias, de A. Von Chamisso e E. T. A. Hoffmann, e de uma anotação do diário deste último para problematizar a repercussão de algumas formas de desestabilizações do Eu na dinâmica psíquica da neurose. O foco dos textos referidos está no fenômeno do duplo na sua forma negativizada, isto é, como o desaparecimento da imagem exterior que dá suporte ao Eu. As ausências da sombra e do reflexo são entendidas como representações metafóricas de uma alteração do Eu que engendra repercussões importantes na homeostase psíquica, sobretudo nas relações sociais de troca. Explora-se daí a menção no diário de Hoffmann de instrumentos ópticos para interrogar o uso desses aparelhos como modelos metapsicológicos na psicanálise. Salienta-se, ainda, a participação de processos de natureza estética na dinâmica psíquica do infamiliar, tomando como referência a ligação entre o conto de Hoffmann e o relato de Stendhal sobre a sua estadia em Florença.(AU)

This is a qualitative research, in essay format, which performs the comparative study of two literary works, by A. Von Chamisso and E. T. A. Hoffmann, and an annotation in the latter's diary to problematize the repercussion of some forms of destabilization of the Ego's in the psychic dynamics of neurosis. The focus of the referred texts is on the phenomenon of the double in its negative form, that is, as the disappearance of the outer image that supports the Ego. The absences of the shadow and the reflection are understood as metaphorical representations of an alteration of the Ego that generates important repercussions on psychic homeostasis, above all in social relationships of exchange. Thus, we analyze the mention of optical instruments in Hoffmann's diary to question the use of these devices as metapsychological models in psychoanalysis. Note, also, the participation of processes of aesthetic nature in the psychic dynamics of the uncanny, taking as reference the connection between Hoffmann's short story and Stendhal's account of his stay in Florence.(AU)

Este ensayo cualitativo realiza un estudio comparativo de dos obras literarias de A. Von Chamisso y de E. T. A. Hoffmann, junto con una anotación en el diario de este último para problematizar la repercusión de algunas formas de desestabilizaciones de la función del Yo en la dinámica psíquica de la neurosis. Los textos se centran en el fenómeno del doble en su forma negativa, como la desaparición de la imagen exterior que sostiene el Yo. Se entienden las ausencias de la penumbra y el reflejo como una representación metafórica de una alteración de la función del Yo que genera importantes repercusiones en la regulación psíquica, sobre todo en las relaciones de intercambio social. Se analiza la presencia en el diario de Hoffmann de instrumentos ópticos para discutir el uso de estos dispositivos como modelos metapsicológicos en psicoanálisis. Se destaca la reverberación de procesos de naturaleza estética en la dinámica psíquica de lo ominoso, tomando como referencia la conexión entre el cuento de Hoffmann y el relato de Stendhal sobre su estancia en Florencia.(AU)

Vanishing acts: the crisis of our loss of kinship with the more-than-human world.

In this paper I am arguing for the recognition of the implicit structural and emotional links between the development of mind and psyche and the more-than-human world. I suggest that it is because of this interpenetration that the uncanny experience of displacement anxiety and its effects on our capacities to think and make links is an under-appreciated aspect of our constant 'forgetting' of the building syndrome of our Earth's symptomatology. I make use of my own theory of the 'organizing gestalt' and the thinking of Maturana, Ingold and Colman to offer a framework for the consideration of the uncanny links between what we know about vanishing biodiversity, broken ecosystems and the breaking down of previously integrated Earth systems and the breaking down of our ways of thinking about our relationships with the more-than-human-world. I suggest that, taken together, such a framework feels remarkably akin to Australian indigenous ways of being in the world. Finally, I ask the question, what might it mean to think ecologically in our psychoanalytic work?

Dans cet article l'auteur défend la reconnaissance des liens implicites structurels et émotionnels entre le développement de la pensée et de la psyché et le monde au-delà de l'humain. Elle suggère que c'est du fait de cette interpénétration que l'expérience étrange et inquiétante liée à l'angoisse de déplacement - et de ses effets sur notre capacité à penser et faire des liens - est un aspect sous-estimé de notre 'oubli' constant du syndrome croissant de la symptomatologie de notre Terre. L'auteur s'appuie sur sa propre théorie de la 'gestalt organisatrice' ainsi que sur la pensée de Maturana, Colman et Ingold pour offrir un cadre pour la prise en compte des liens troublants entre ce que nous savons de la biodiversité déclinante, des écosystèmes endommagés, de la faillite de systèmes qui étaient auparavant intégrés, et de l'échec de nos manières de concevoir nos relations avec le monde au-delà de l'humain. L'auteur suggère que, pris dans sa globalité, un tel cadre serait remarquablement proche des manières Aborigènes d'être dans le monde. Finalement l'auteur pose la question : qu'est-ce que cela pourrait vouloir dire de penser écologiquement dans notre travail psychanalytique?

En el presente trabajo la autora argumenta acerca del reconocimiento del vínculo implícito, estructural y emocional entre el desarrollo psíquico mental y el mundo más que humano. Ella sugiere que es debido a esta interpenetración que la experiencia de ansiedad por desplazamiento, y sus efectos en nuestra capacidad para pensar y hacer conexiones, es un aspecto subestimado de nuestro constante 'olvido' del síndrome de construcción de la sintomatología de nuestra Tierra. La autora hace uso de su propia teoría de la 'gestalt organizadora' así como del pensamiento de Maturana, Colman e Ingold para ofrecer un marco de referencia para considerar los lazos misteriosos entre lo que sabemos acerca de la desaparición de la biodiversidad, los ecosistemas fracturados y la ruptura de sistemas terrestres previamente integrados, y de nuestros modos de pensar sobre las relaciones con el mundo más que humano. Ella sugiere que, en conjunto, dicho marco de referencia es notablemente similar a los modos de estar en el mundo de los indígenas Australianos. Finalmente, la autora pregunta ¿que podría significar pensar ecológicamente en nuestro trabajo psicoanalítico?

Roald Dahl's eerie landlady: A macabre tale of aging.

This article examines Roald Dahl's adult short story 'The Landlady' through the lens of age studies and the horror genre. It explores how different symbolic and gothic textual elements contribute to the narrative of decline and the negative notion of later life. Special attention is given to female aging and dementia, which is presented as a horrifying 'silent killer' embodied in the figure of a witch. In the story, older age is portrayed as a source of horror and evokes a fear of aging that is linked to gradual bodily, mental, and social decline. Although Dahl's tale provides some hints that aging can be empowering and liberating for older women, the portrayal of the landlady proves that older age is enshrined in negative and even grotesque perceptions of later life. The use of horror helps further expose the individual and societal fears of growing older and the challenges of aging. The sardonic and twisted ending of the story also reveals the complexities of both growing up and growing older. Shedding light on Dahl's dark narrative from the perspective of age studies offers new vantage points from which to review the author's literary legacy and rethink the representations of aging in popular literature. Ultimately, the article adds to interdisciplinary approaches to older age and shows how humanities-based perspectives can contribute to expanding research into aging and later life.

Small Pupils Lead to Lower Judgements of a Person's Characteristics for Exaggerated, but Not for Realistic Pupils.

Our eyes convey information about a person. The pupils may provide information regarding our emotional states when presented along with different emotional expressions. We examined the effects of pupil size and vergence on inferring other people's characteristics in neutral expression eyes. Pupil sizes were manipulated by overlaying black disks onto the pupils of the original eye images. The disk area was then changed to create small, medium, and large pupils. Vergence was simulated by shifting the medium-sized disks nasally in one eye. Pupil sizes were exaggerated for Experiment 1 and followed values from the literature for Experiment 2. The first Purkinje image from the eye photos in Experiment 2 was kept to preserve image realism. The characteristics measured were sex, age, attractiveness, trustworthiness, intelligence, valence, and arousal. Participants completed one of two online experiments and rated eight eye pictures with differently sized pupils and with vergence eyes. Both experiments were identical except for the stimuli designs. Results from Experiment 1 revealed rating differences between pupil sizes for all characteristics except sex, age, and arousal. Specifically, eyes with extremely small pupil sizes and artificial vergence received the lowest ratings compared to medium and large pupil sizes. Results from Experiment 2 only indicated weak effects of pupil size and vergence, particularly for intelligence ratings. We conclude that the pupils can influence how characteristics of another person are perceived and may be regarded as important social signals in subconscious social interaction processes. However, the effects may be rather small for neutral expressions.

Notas psicanalíticas acerca das arquiteturas do infamiliar na literatura fantástica / Psychoanalytic notes on the architectures of the uncanny in fantastic literature

Defende-se que a literatura fantástica constitui um material valioso de pesquisa para o psicanalista, haja vista que ela está comprometida em evocar no leitor o sentimento do infamiliar (Unheimliche), entendido como a manifestação episódica de um conteúdo atávico do psiquismo que se encontrava até então em estado latente, acarretando a regressão ao narcisismo primário e a dissolução temporária e localizada das fronteiras do Eu. Propõe-se a expressão arquiteturas do infamiliar para designar a conjuntura estético-literária que caracteriza esse projeto narrativo. Para evidenciar a especificidade dos recursos textuais que favorecem esse arranjo, sua sintaxe é contraposta à dos chistes. Então, por meio da referência às concepções de anamorfose, leitor implícito, fantasia e construção, busca-se esclarecer os mecanismos psíquicos relacionados à leitura e à criação dos textos fantásticos, sublinhando o caráter volátil e mutante de suas temáticas e estratégias e a sua íntima relação com a cultura e o social. Pontua-se que o estudo desses artifícios literários podem trazer contribuições significativas para o entendimento das vicissitudes da fantasia e da delimitação dos limites do Eu e da realidade. Ao final, comenta-se o conto O homem de areia, de E. T. A. Hoffmann, à luz da proposta apresentada.

This paper defends that fantastic literature constitutes a valuable research material for the psychoanalyst, given that this literary modality is committed to evoking in the reader the feeling of the uncanny (Unheimliche), understood as an episodic manifestation of an atavistic in latent state psychic content, causing the regression to primary narcissism and a temporary and localized dissolution of the borders of the Self. The expression architectures of the uncanny is proposed to designate the aesthetic-literary conjuncture that characterizes this project. To highlight the specificity of the textual resources that favor this arrangement, its syntax is contrasted with that of jokes. Through the reference to the concepts of anamorphosis, implicit reader, fantasy and construction, one seeks to clarify the psychic mechanisms related to the reading and creation of fantastic texts, underlining the volatile and mutating character of their themes and strategies and their intimate relationship with culture and society. One argues that the study of these literary devices can bring significant contributions to the understanding of the delimitation of Self and reality, and the vicissitudes of fantasy as well. At the end, the short story The Sandman, by E. T. A. Hoffmann, is commented in the light of the this proposal.

Robot Voices in Daily Life: Vocal Human-Likeness and Application Context as Determinants of User Acceptance.

The growing popularity of speech interfaces goes hand in hand with the creation of synthetic voices that sound ever more human. Previous research has been inconclusive about whether anthropomorphic design features of machines are more likely to be associated with positive user responses or, conversely, with uncanny experiences. To avoid detrimental effects of synthetic voice design, it is therefore crucial to explore what level of human realism human interactors prefer and whether their evaluations may vary across different domains of application. In a randomized laboratory experiment, 165 participants listened to one of five female-sounding robot voices, each with a different degree of human realism. We assessed how much participants anthropomorphized the voice (by subjective human-likeness ratings, a name-giving task and an imagination task), how pleasant and how eerie they found it, and to what extent they would accept its use in various domains. Additionally, participants completed Big Five personality measures and a tolerance of ambiguity scale. Our results indicate a positive relationship between human-likeness and user acceptance, with the most realistic sounding voice scoring highest in pleasantness and lowest in eeriness. Participants were also more likely to assign real human names to the voice (e.g., "Julia" instead of "T380") if it sounded more realistic. In terms of application context, participants overall indicated lower acceptance of the use of speech interfaces in social domains (care, companionship) than in others (e.g., information & navigation), though the most human-like voice was rated significantly more acceptable in social applications than the remaining four. While most personality factors did not prove influential, openness to experience was found to moderate the relationship between voice type and user acceptance such that individuals with higher openness scores rated the most human-like voice even more positively. Study results are discussed in the light of the presented theory and in relation to open research questions in the field of synthetic voice design.

Alterations in the Experience of Time, Space, and Intersubjectivity and the Interaction with Pre-Existent Psychopathology during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic and the measures to protect the physically vulnerable may disproportionately affect people with mental health vulnerabilities, who receive psychotherapeutic inpatient treatment, as many of these measures impact the (inter)subjective space crucial to psychotherapy. OBJECTIVE: We investigate how people with pre-existing mental health conditions and healthcare professionals experienced changes linked to the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: During the first COVID-19 outbreak and lockdown in spring 2020, we conducted semi-structured interviews with patients and healthcare professionals at a clinic for psychosomatic medicine in Germany and analyzed them following the principles of descriptive phenomenology focusing on social interactions, intersubjectivity, and the therapeutic space. RESULTS: We conducted a total of >30 h of interviews with 19 patients and 17 healthcare professionals. Analyses revealed that the COVID-19 pandemic and the related measures have led to a sudden loss of a sense of normality. Participants experienced changes in the perception of time, space, self, and embodied interaction with others, resulting in a profound feeling of alienation and "unhomeliness" which seemed to magnify pre-existing psychopathology. The inpatient psychotherapeutic environment provided safety by offering spatial and temporal structures and opportunities for social interaction, supporting people to find new ways to be in a changed world. CONCLUSIONS: Our study shows that despite the threat of infection, it is vital to continue to provide people with psychological vulnerabilities with a safe therapeutic space in which to regain a sense of safety in a changed world. This is particularly important, as those people seem to suffer intensely from the collateral measures of a pandemic.

The Haunting of Hill House: psyche, soma, and destiny.

Fairy tales and horror stories inhabit the realm of terrible truths, affording opportunities to survive and work through them from the safe distance of displacement. Psychoanalysis, too, provides spaces to enter into that enigmatic realm of imagistic, oneiric meanings and explore possibilities beyond the concrete manifestations of daily life, to penetrate the mysteries and discover the patterns. I will use various lenses of theory alongside literature and screen portrayals of a haunted house, to investigate the realm of the uncanny and explore ways in which we are haunted by truths we fail to face.