The Influence of a Robot's Social Abilities on Acceptance by Elderly Users

This study examines the influence of perceived social abilities of a robot on user's attitude towards and acceptance of the robot. An interface robot with simulated conversational capabilities was used in a Wizard of Oz experiment with two conditions: a more socially communicative (the robot made use of a larger set of social abilities in interaction) and a less socially communicative interface. Participants (n=40) were observed in 5 minute interaction sessions and were asked to answer questions on perceived social abilities and technology acceptance. Results show that participants who were confronted with the more socially communicative version of the robot felt more comfortable and were more expressive in communicating with it. This suggests that the more socially communicative condition would be more likely to be accepted as a conversational partner. However, the findings did not show a significant correlation between perceived social abilities and technology acceptance

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