Anthropomorphism and Its Negative Attitudes, Sociability, Animacy, Agency, and Disturbance Requirements for Social Robots: A Pilot Study

A social robot that meets the acceptability requirements of the target end-users presents a significant challenge to robot designers. The design process is often iterative and requires continuous improvements and optimization over time. One key aspect in designing an acceptable social robot is anthropomorphism. Social roboticists have developed assessment tools to evaluate different aspects for the perception of the observer. In this study, we evaluated the attitude of children toward four robots with different degrees of anthropomorphic traits. Questionnaires based on the Negative Attitude toward Robots Scale (NARS) and the Human-Robot Interaction Evaluation Scale (HRIES) were used to acquire the responses of 33 participants. To identify any changes due to interactions, a pre-test questionnaire was given prior to the interaction with a robot. It was then followed by a post-test questionnaire. Statistical tests were used to analyze the effects of gender, test (i.e., pre-test vs post-test), and the four robots, on the observers’ perception. Statistical differences were found between the four robots in the subscales of HRIES, namely, Sociability, Animacy, and Disturbance. The preferences of the children were leaning toward the humanoid robot (i.e., Alpha) with the moderate anthropomorphic traits in the Disturbance subscale. Low to moderate correlations were found between the subscales of NARS and HRIES.