Department of Science, Technology and Policy Studies, University of Twente, The Netherlands.
Sociol Health Illn. 2010 Feb 1;32(2):335-47. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9566.2009.01218.x. Epub 2010 Feb 8.
This article focuses on participants and researchers who actively tested a prototype - a robot intended to enhance the health of elders. Specifically, this article analyses interactions between robots, elder test users, and robot designers to examine how images of elder users, definitions of health, and ideas about ageing shape the development of technology. The designers imagined the prospective user as a person who would both need and want a health robot. In contrast, test users drew upon stereotypes of old people and imagined the prospective user as a lonely person in need of care and company. To resist this stereotype, they presented themselves as cognitively and physically healthy, independent, and helpful. This image of the helpful test user allowed participants to simultaneously enjoy the robot and position themselves as not old or in need of care. The participants' views, however, did not influence the designers' overall view of elder users, and were not incorporated into their design practices. Recognising and taking into account test users' views on elder technology users - specifically their understanding and rejection of negative stereotypes of old people - could help prevent resistance to (and thus the non-use of) health technologies by elders.
本文聚焦于积极测试原型的参与者和研究人员——一种旨在增进老年人健康的机器人。具体来说，本文分析了机器人、老年测试用户和机器人设计师之间的互动，以研究老年用户形象、健康定义和老龄化观念如何塑造技术的发展。设计师将预期用户想象成既需要又想要健康机器人的人。相比之下，测试用户则依据老年人的刻板印象，将潜在用户想象成一个孤独的、需要照顾和陪伴的人。为了抵制这种刻板印象，他们表现出自己认知和身体上的健康、独立和乐于助人。测试用户乐于助人的形象使参与者既能享受机器人，又能将自己定位为不老或不需要照顾的人。然而，参与者的观点并没有影响设计师对老年用户的整体看法，也没有被纳入他们的设计实践。认识和考虑测试用户对老年技术用户的看法——特别是他们对老年人负面刻板印象的理解和拒绝——可以帮助预防老年人对健康技术的抵制（从而导致不使用）。
