JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

For robots to be effectively employed in health applications, they need to display appropriate social behaviours. A fundamental requirement in all social interactions is the ability to engage, maintain and demonstrate attention. Attentional behaviours include leaning forward, self-disclosure, and changes in voice pitch.

Objective:

The aim of this research was to examine the effect of robot attentional behaviours on user perceptions and behaviours in a simulated healthcare interaction.

Methods:

A between-subjects experimental design was employed in a laboratory setting. Participants were randomised to one of four experimental conditions before engaging in a scripted interaction with a ‘medical receptionist’ robot. Experimental conditions included a self-disclosure condition, voice pitch change condition, forward lean condition, as well as a neutral condition. Participants completed post-interaction measures relating to engagement, perceived robot attention, and perceived robot empathy. Interactions were video recorded and coded for participant attentional behaviours.

Results:

181 participants were recruited from the University. Participants who interacted with the robot in the forward lean and self-disclosure conditions found the robot to be significantly more stimulating that those who interacted with the robot in the voice pitch or the neutral conditions (p = .03). Participants in the forward lean, self-disclosure, and neutral conditions found the robot to be significantly more interesting compared to those in the voice pitch condition (p = .002). Participants in the forward lean and self-disclosure conditions spent significantly more time looking at the robot than participants in the neutral condition (p = <.001). Significantly more participants in the self-disclosure condition laughed during the interaction (p = .01), and significantly more participants in the forward-lean condition leant towards the robot during the interaction (p = <.001).

Conclusions:

The use of self-disclosure and forward lean by a healthcare robot can increase human engagement and attentional behaviours. Voice pitch changes did not increase attention or engagement. The small effects with regards to participant perceptions are potentially due to limitations in self-report measures, or a lack of comparison for most participants who had never interacted with a robot before. Further research could explore the use of self-disclosure and forward lean using a within-subjects design, and in real healthcare settings.