CHS: Small: Applying Intergroup Psychology to Overcome Barriers in Human-Robot Interaction

Indiana University, Bloomington IN

Investigators

Abstract

Robots are projected to become ubiquitous in homes, hospitals, schools, and other everyday spaces, where they will have to interact not with experts but rather with ordinary people - adults, the elderly, and children, from different cultural backgrounds. But untrained users may have negative beliefs, emotions, and attitudes about robots, due to lack of familiarity, which present potential challenges to their acceptance. Furthermore, multiple people will interact with multiple robots. Interaction between human and robot groups may be especially problematic, because intergroup interactions among humans are generally more negative, uncooperative, and aggressive than interactions between individuals, and human reactions to technological artifacts often resemble their reactions to other humans. In this project the PI will draw upon research from social psychology that has examined stereotyping, prejudice, and intergroup conflict, and will apply established and validated theories and methods to develop: (a) measures that can be used to understand the extent, nature, and bases of people's negative reactions to robots; (b) theoretical models of the causes and consequences of these negative reactions; and (c) interventions that demonstrably reduce negative beliefs, attitudes, and behavior in intergroup human-robot interaction (HRI). Project outcomes will suggest ways to reduce or eliminate crucial barriers to future robotics applications that are due to people's beliefs, attitudes, and emotions. Nine studies will be conducted over three years. In Year 1, online and in-person measures will be administered to understand participant attitudes toward robots, and investigate fundamental factors that contribute to negative reactions. In Year 2, group contact, perspective taking, and long term exposure will be explored as ways to reduce prejudice toward robots. In Year 3, two more approaches to prejudice reduction in HRI will be tested: recategorization and norm-based intervention. A final study will evaluate the interaction and design strategies found to be most successful in fostering positive intergroup HRI by implementing them in robots interacting with people in a naturalistic setting. The studies will involve participants of different ages, socio-economic status, and cultural background (including four studies in Japan). Because HRI has mostly focused to date on one-on-one interactions between people and robots, this application of psychological theory to HRI in groups has vast transformative potential.