Child–robot relationship formation: A narrative review of empirical research

How do children form a close and trusting relationship with a robot? 🤝 🤖

Library › Papers on Children, Robots, and AI

1. Young Children and ChatGPT: Parents' Use of ChatGPT in Parenting

2. Exploring Parent's Needs for Children-Centered AI to Support Preschoolers' Storytelling and Reading Activities

3. Child–Robot Interaction Across Cultures: How Does Playing a Game With a Social Robot Compare to Playing a Game Alone or With a Friend?

4. Culturally Variable Preferences for Robot Design and Use in South Korea, Turkey, and the United States

5. Child–robot relationship formation: A narrative review of empirical research

6. Shall I Trust You? From Child–Robot Interaction to Trusting Relationships

7. Aladdin’s Genie or Pandora’s Box for early childhood education? Experts chat on the roles, challenges, and developments of ChatGPT

8. Challenging ChatGPT 'Intelligence' with human tools: a neuropsychological investigation on prefrontal functioning of a large language model

9. Dialogue with a Conversational Agent Promotes Children's Story Comprehension via Enhancing Engagement

10. Investigation on Empathy Towards Humans and Robots using fMRI

11. Using Near Infrared Spectroscopy to Index Temporal Changes in Affect in Realistic Human-Robot Interactions

12. "Robovie, you'll have to go into the closet now": Children's social and moral relationships with a humanoid robot

13. The Now and Future of ChatGPT and GPT in Psychiatry

14. Digital Inequality and Developmental Trajectories of Low-income, Immigrant, and Minority Children

15. Family Learning Talk in AI Literacy Learning Activities

16. A Social Robot Connected with ChatGPT to Improve Cognitive Functioning in ASD Subjects

17. Humans Create More Novelty Than ChatGPT When Asked to Retell a Story

18. When He Feels Cold, He Goes to the Seahorse—Blending Generative AI into Multimaterial Storymaking for Family Expressive Arts Therapy

19. Large Language Models Have Divergent Effects on Self-Perceptions of Mind and the Attributes Considered Uniquely Human

20. Ascribing Consciousness to Artificial Intelligence: Human-AI Interaction and its Carry-Over Effects on Human-Human Interaction

21. Assessment of Engagement and Learning During Child-Robot Interaction using EEG Signals

22. Can Machines Think? Interaction and Perspective Taking with Robots Investigated via fMRI

23. Investigating Conversational Dynamics in Human-Robot Interaction with fMRI

24. "Rosita Reads With My Family": Developing A Bilingual Conversational Agent to Support Parent-Child Shared Reading

Interesting paper I read today:

Authors:
Caroline van Straten, Jochen Peter & Rinaldo Kühne

Here's a brief summary I wrote:

In this review paper, the authors provide a comprehensive overview of the existing literature on the factors associated with child-robot relationship formation.

The focus is on two key dimensions: closeness and trust in children’s relationships with social robots. Most of the studies reviewed involved children aged 6 to 12.

Regarding robot characteristics, the robot’s responsiveness plays an important role in fostering a sense of closeness.

However, no specific robot characteristic appears to strongly predict trust; for instance, embodiment was positively associated with closeness but not with trust.

Furthermore, robot responsiveness, tailoring, and embodiment were all linked to enjoyment and engagement—mental states that can lead to closeness and trust.

However, these factors did not significantly influence other mental states, such as empathy or anthropomorphism.

Interestingly, children reported feeling a sense of closeness to robots that fell somewhere between their feelings toward humans and inanimate objects, yet in some cases, they trusted robots more than humans.

Younger children were more likely to enjoy interactions with robots compared to older children. The paper highlights that advanced technology may not be necessary to evoke feelings of closeness in children, as even simple robot features, like a certain level of responsiveness, can foster such connections.

On the other hand, further research is needed to better understand the psychological mechanisms through which children develop varying degrees of closeness and trust with robots.

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6. Shall I Trust You? From Child–Robot Interaction to Trusting Relationships