Mental Models and Cooperation with Robotic Assistants

In the future, interactive robots will perform many helpful tasks. In 5 studies, we developed techniques for measuring the richness and content of people's mental models of a robot. Using these techniques, we examined how a robot's appearance and dialogue affected people’s responses. Participants had a comparatively rich mechanistic perception of the robot, and perceived it to have some human traits, but not complex human attachment, foibles, or creativity. In study 5, participants who interacted with an extraverted, playful robot versus a more serious, caring robot, developed a richer, more positive mental model of the playful robot but cooperated less with it. Our findings imply different designs for robotic assistants that meet social and practical goals.