Keeping it Light

Abstract

A 2 (mediator: human, robot) x 3 (humor styles: affiliative, aggressive, self-defeating) factorial experiment was conducted to test participant perceptions of robot-enacted humor in conflict mitigation. Participants watched brief video vignettes of roommate conflict in which either a robot or human employed humor. Funniness ratings did not differ significantly between conditions of humor style or mediator. However, participants perceived affiliative and aggressive humor employed by a robot as less appropriate than when used by a human.