Human-Centered Design of Socio-Digital Systems, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany.
Social Psychology, Media and Communication, University of Duisburg-Essen, Duisburg, Germany.
PLoS One. 2021 May 5;16(5):e0249554. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0249554. eCollection 2021.
The unique physical embodiment of robots enables physical contact between machines and humans. Since interpersonal touch research has demonstrated that touch has several positive behavioral (e.g., reduced stress, better immune functioning) as well as evaluative consequences (e.g., better evaluation of the initiator of touch), the question arises whether touch from a humanoid robot, the body of which is somewhat similar to that of a human, can evoke similar effects. To answer this question, we conducted a between-subjects experiment in the laboratory with n = 48 students who encountered a humanoid robot (Softbank Robotics' NAO) that either did or did not touch their hand in a non-functional manner during a counseling conversation. The analyses of participants' behavior revealed that they mostly reacted by smiling and laughing. Furthermore, participants who were touched by the robot complied significantly more frequently with a request posed by the robot during conversation, and reported better feelings compared to those who were not touched. However, there were no effects of robot touch on subjective evaluations of the robot or on the interaction experience.
机器人独特的物理体现使机器和人类能够进行物理接触。由于人际触摸研究表明，触摸具有多种积极的行为（例如，减轻压力，改善免疫功能）和评估后果（例如，对触摸发起者的评价更好），因此出现了这样一个问题，即具有类似于人体的身体的人形机器人的触摸是否可以产生类似的效果。为了回答这个问题，我们在实验室中进行了一项被试间实验，共有 48 名学生参加，他们在咨询对话中遇到了一个人形机器人（软银机器人的 NAO），该机器人以非功能性的方式触摸了他们的手。对参与者行为的分析表明，他们主要通过微笑和大笑来做出反应。此外，与未被机器人触摸的参与者相比，被机器人触摸的参与者在对话中更频繁地遵守机器人提出的请求，并且感觉更好。但是，机器人触摸对机器人的主观评价或交互体验没有影响。
