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The Illusion of an autonomous social robot in a therapy setting

Spanier, Johanna (2019) The Illusion of an autonomous social robot in a therapy setting.

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Abstract:Autism Spectrum Disorder is a common disorder for which no remedies have been found. In recent decades, social robots have been increasingly used in behavioural therapy for autistic children as they have positive effects on these children. Social robots can have different forms of autonomy. Therapists prefer semi-autonomous robots controlled by a visible Wizard of Oz (WoZ). The purpose of this research was to examine the effects of a visible WoZ on the anthropomorphic inferences of children on social robots. In a qualitative experiment, two independent variables were evaluated: the visibility of the WoZ (visible versus traditional) and, in addition, the level of robot-initiated interaction with the supervisor. In total, 12 children aged 6 to 9 participated in which only one child was diagnosed with ASD. The children took part in a semi-structured interview after listening to several stories told by a humanoid robot. The interviews were analyzed for anthropomorphic inferences. The results showed no effects of a visible WoZ on the anthropomorphic inferences of a child on a social robot. Children did not attribute more anthropomorphic characteristics to a robot when it was controlled by a traditional WoZ. Also, the additional robot-initiated interaction did not increase the anthropomorphic perception of a social robot. The research rather identified trends towards anthropomorphic inferences on social robots.
Item Type:Essay (Bachelor)
Faculty:EEMCS: Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science
Subject:77 psychology
Programme:Business & IT BSc (56066)
Link to this item:https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/78838
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