Keith R. MacArthur

Papers

Total Citations

H-Index

About

Keith R. MacArthur is a leading researcher in human-robot interaction (HRI), with a primary focus on the psychological and human factors that shape trust between people and autonomous systems. His work is foundational in understanding how prior experience with robots influences user attitudes and trust calibration, as demonstrated in his highly cited 2017 study (54 citations), which experimentally showed that users with prior robot interaction exhibit higher trust scores and more nuanced trust assessments. MacArthur’s 2016 paper on proximity and speed in HRI (37 citations) further explores how robot motion and physical distance affect human comfort and safety, offering practical guidelines for designing socially aware robots. His 2021 chapter on trust and human factors synthesizes decades of automation trust research into a clear three-factor model—human trustor, automated trustee, and environment—providing a theoretical framework widely used by HRI and human-automation interaction scholars. MacArthur’s work bridges experimental psychology and engineering, making him a key voice in creating robots that are both trustworthy and intuitive for everyday users. His research is essential reading for students and engineers designing collaborative, safe, and user-centered robotic systems.