Influence of Imagined Human-Robot Interaction on Robot Perception

Previous research suggests that users evaluate a robot more favorably after a first-person (immersive) experience than from a third-person perspective. The present study explored how imagined human-robot interactions from different perspectives (i.e., 1st vs 3rd person perspective) would affect self-efficacy (toward the task and the robot), trust, and acceptance of the robot. Several key variables may potentially moderate the effects of perspective; we investigated different combinations of factors in order to obtain a more comprehensive understanding. Participants read hypothetical cooking vignettes involving a human-robot interaction, written from either a first-person or a third-person perspective. Additionally, we evaluate the impact of robot action (i.e., failure vs success robot performance). Evaluations of the robot and the interaction were higher after reading the successful outcome vignettes, replicating previous findings. However, perspective had no significant effect. These results suggest possible differences between actual and imagined human-robot interactions and highlight the unique impact of first-hand interaction with real robots.