MCI Older Adults’ User Experience with Introverted and Extraverted Humanoid Robot Personalities

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the impact of different personalities in humanoid robots for cognitive training scenarios with older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). In particular, we have designed an application with two opposite personalities based on the Extraversion dimension of the Big Five Factors model. A user test with 16 Italian-speaking participants diagnosed with MCI aged 68+ was performed. The analysis of the data collected suggests that the robot’s personality can have an effect on the engagement of such users and also found that participants can discriminate between the two personalities. Overall, the study highlights the importance of designing human-robot interactions considering personality-related aspects when considering MCI older adults.