3 research outputs found
Persuasive Robotics: the influence of robot gender on human behavior
Persuasive Robotics is the study of persuasion as
it applies to human-robot interaction (HRI). Persuasion can
be generally defined as an attempt to change another’s beliefs
or behavior. The act of influencing others is fundamental to
nearly every type of social interaction. Any agent desiring to
seamlessly operate in a social manner will need to incorporate
this type of core human behavior. As in human interaction,
myriad aspects of a humanoid robot’s appearance and behavior
can significantly alter its persuasiveness – this work will
focus on one particular factor: gender. In the current study,
run at the Museum of Science in Boston, subjects interacted
with a humanoid robot whose gender was varied. After a
short interaction and persuasive appeal, subjects responded
to a donation request made by the robot, and subsequently
completed a post-study questionnaire. Findings showed that
men were more likely to donate money to the female robot,
while women showed little preference. Subjects also tended to
rate the robot of the opposite sex as more credible, trustworthy,
and engaging. In the case of trust and engagement the effect
was much stronger between male subjects and the female robot.
These results demonstrate the importance of considering robot
and human gender in the design of HRI.Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Media Laborator