USER ACCEPTANCE OF SOCIAL ROBOTS: A SOCIAL RESPONSE PERSPECTIVE

Anthropomorphism of social robots has been argued to be an important factor that determines individuals’ usage of social robots. Little research on social robots has explained how the anthropomorphic design of social robots affects users’ social responses to social robots and how social responses further affect user acceptance of social robots. Drawing on the social response theory, we propose a conceptual model to examine user acceptance of social robots. Specifically, three anthropomorphic features (appearance, voice, and response) are proposed to trigger users’ social responses (perceived social presence and perceived humanness) to social robots, which lead to individuals’ intention to accept social robots. The proposed research model will be empirically tested with data collected among hotel customers via an online experiment. The current study aims to contribute to the social robot acceptance literature from the social response perspective

User Acceptance of Social Robots: A Social Response Perspective

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Mindful and mindless anthropomorphism: how to facilitate consumer comprehension towards new products

Individual’s perception of anthropomorphic platforms in promotion of really new products or novel innovations has not been examined fully. There are contradictions in the academic literature on how various presentations of social cues are perceived by audience mindlessly or mindfully. Perceived mindful and mindless anthropomorphism are explored in this study in order to understand its effect on individuals’ attitude, purchase intention and comprehension of new products. A single factor between-subject design using two innovative products and websites with four levels of social cues (voice, language, interactivity and social role) was used. Five hundred participants took part in the main experiment. Participants were randomly assigned to each experimental group. The analysis indicated that a human-like avatar is preferred by individuals over static avatar and perceived higher mindlessly. Interactive content didn’t improve individuals’ perceived mindless anthropomorphism. There was no significant increase in individuals’ mindful anthropomorphism in any condition. The study indicated perceived mindless anthropomorphism results into better comprehension, attitude and purchase intention towards really new products

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