Effects of Robot Bowing during Apology on Trust Repair

This study investigates the role of robot bowing in trust repair, focusing on how human-like movement impacts trust in human-robot interaction. We manipulated the movement quality across four conditions: human-like, constant-speed, abrupt, and no-movement. Specifically for the human-like movement, we analyzed the Japanese hospitality (called “omotenashi”) gesture, which expresses attentiveness and respect to others and was translated into robot bowing movement. The experimental results indicated that human-like movement did not significantly affect trust repair, while constant-speed and abrupt movements showed improvements in subjective trust. The study highlighted the need for movement designs with considerations of the robot's appearance to facilitate effective trust repair.