Users’ responses to humanoid social robots: A social response view

Abstract

The anthropomorphic features of humanoid social robots (HSRs) have been contended to hold significance in understanding users’ behavior regarding such robots. However, there is a lack of research examining how HSRs’ different anthropomorphic features could trigger users’ cognitive and behavioral responses. Utilizing social response theory as a foundation, our study presented a research model for scrutinizing how three different anthropomorphic features—appearance, voice, and response, influence users’ cognitive (perceived social presence and perceived humanness) and behavioral responses (continued usage intention) to HSRs. Data gathered from hotel customers (N = 509) from a survey posted online was utilized to validate the research model. Results showed that appearance and response positively affect perceived social presence, whereas appearance, voice, and response positively affect perceived humanness. Further, both perceived social presence and perceived humanness were found to positively influence continued usage intention. This research enriches the current literature on social robots by explaining how various anthropomorphic features as social cues could trigger user cognitive and behavioral responses differently from the social response lens.