Development of Population Norms with the Robot Anxiety Scale Measurement Tool for Hungary

Abstract

The development of social and assistive robots raise the question of societal readiness level to accept and use these advanced technologies. The Robot Anxiety Scale (RAS) is one of the most frequently applied measurement tools to assess robot-related anxiety, however reference scores from the general population with RAS are still lacking. The aim of our study was to establish population norms with the RAS for Hungary. An online cross-sectional survey was performed among the adult general population of Hungary (N=1000; mean age 48.9, SD=10.0; female: 53.3%). Participants completed the validated Hungarian version of the RAS. The average RAS subscale scores were: Communication Capability 10.1 (SD=3.9), Behavioral Characteristics 13.7 (SD=5.3) and Discourse with Robots 13.5 (SD=5.4). Female and less educated respondents reported significantly higher anxiety scores on all the three RAS subscales, but no significant difference was found by age. Results of this first RAS population norms study can be used as reference points for further clinical studies and as basic inputs for the implementation and management of social, assistive and healthcare robots in cyber-medical systems. Prospective multi-country studies among the elderly and offline samples are encouraged to complement the results.