Does Exposure to Technological Knowledge Modulate the Adoption of the Intentional Stance Towards Humanoid Robots in Children?

Abstract

Humanoid robots are being increasingly employed in educational and therapeutic settings with children. Thus, it calls for examining whether exposure to technological knowledge about the mechanical workings of humanoid robots can affect children’s perception of robots as agents with intentionality (i.e., adoption of the Intentional Stance). In this study, we presented a group of school children with a two-hour theoretical and practical workshop focused on programming robotic components. In two sessions, namely before (Pre Session) and after the workshop (Post Session), we administered the InStance Test (IST), to assess whether children’s likelihood of adopting the Intentional Stance was modulated by the knowledge children acquired about robots during the workshop. Results showed no significant difference in the IST scores across sessions, indicating that exposure to technological knowledge did not modulate the likelihood of adopting the Intentional Stance across the sessions. These findings suggest that brief exposure to knowledge about the mechanisms behind a humanoid robot is not sufficient to modulate children’s perceptions of humanoid robots.