Preschoolers attribute preferences in response to human but not robot gaze

With technological advancements, children increasingly interact with robots designed to mimic human-like behaviors for communication, among which gaze is particularly pivotal from early childhood. This study thus explores how children attribute and form preferences when exposed to human versus robotic gazes. The research involved 58 Italian children aged 3 to 5 years. They watched videos featuring a human and a robot each gazing at one of two objects. Subsequently, children were asked which object the gazer preferred (preference attribution) and to indicate their own preference (preference formation). Attribution of object preference was evaluated also as a function of children’s Theory of Mind (i.e., false belief) and mental state attributions to human and robot agents. Results showed that children consistently attributed preferences based on human gaze, but not robot gaze, suggesting that they interpret human gaze as a meaningful communicative signal, likely associated with intentionality. Gaze had no significant effect on children’s own preferences for either agent. Importantly, attribution of mental states to the human, but not to the robot, significantly predicted accurate preference attribution. No associations were found between performance on the false-belief task and gaze-based responses, indicating that explicit preference attribution may rely on socio-cognitive processes distinct from belief-based reasoning. These findings provide design-relevant insights for child–robot interaction, suggesting that gaze alone may not function as an effective communicative cue for young children and highlighting the importance of developmentally informed interaction strategies in robotic systems designed for early childhood.