Face (sociological concept)
Related papers: 20
About
In sociology and interpersonal communication, "face" refers to the social image, dignity, and respect that individuals project and seek to maintain during interactions — a concept deeply rooted in the work of sociologist Erving Goffman. In robotics and AI, this concept has become essential for designing social robots capable of engaging in natural, culturally sensitive human-robot interaction. Robots must navigate "face-threatening" situations — moments where social dignity is at stake — by expressing empathy, avoiding confrontational responses, and maintaining conversational politeness. This is especially critical in service, educational, and caregiving robots that interact closely with humans across diverse cultural contexts. Understanding face dynamics informs how robots manage turn-taking, express emotions through facial displays, respond to social cues, and recover from errors without causing embarrassment or distrust. Getting this right matters because humans instinctively apply social norms to robot interactions; robots that violate face expectations are perceived as less trustworthy, less intelligent, and less acceptable as collaborative partners in real-world environments.
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Top Cited Papers
The Quest for Artificial Intelligence
Nils J. Nilsson
Citations: 772 • 2009
The Uncanny Valley: Effect of Realism on the Impression of Artificial Human Faces
Jun’ichiro Seyama, Ruth S. Nagayama
Citations: 565 • 2007
The Challenges and Opportunities in the Digitalization of Companies in a Post-COVID-19 World
Fernando Almeida, José Duarte Santos, José Monteiro
Citations: 514 • 2020
All robots are not created equal
Carl DiSalvo, Francine Gemperle, Jodi Forlizzi, Sara Kiesler
Citations: 489 • 2002
Status, challenges, and future perspectives of fringe projection profilometry
Jing Xu, Song Zhang
Citations: 436 • 2020
Non-contact video-based pulse rate measurement on a mobile service robot
Ronny Stricker, Steffen Müller, Horst–Michael Groß
Citations: 420 • 2014
The Human Face as a Dynamic Tool for Social Communication
Rachael E. Jack, Philippe G. Schyns
Citations: 400 • 2015
Infant-like Social Interactions between a Robot and a Human Caregiver
Cynthia Breazeal, Brian Scassellati
Citations: 325 • 2000
Capgras delusion: a window on face recognition
Hadyn D. Ellis, Michael B. Lewis
Citations: 324 • 2001
Furhat: A Back-Projected Human-Like Robot Head for Multiparty Human-Machine Interaction
Samer Al Moubayed, Jonas Beskow, Gabriel Skantze, Björn Granström
Citations: 295 • 2012
Space Robotics: Dynamics and Control
Yangsheng Xu, Takeo Kanade
Citations: 261 • 1993
Robots with Display Screens: A Robot with a More Humanlike Face Display Is Perceived To Have More Mind and a Better Personality
Elizabeth Broadbent, Vinayak Kumar, Xingyan Li, John J. Sollers, Rebecca Stafford, Bruce A. MacDonald, Daniel M. Wegner
Citations: 260 • 2013
Toward an assembly plan from observation. I. Task recognition with polyhedral objects
Katsushi Ikeuchi, Takashi Suehiro
Citations: 260 • 1994
Employing Adaptive Learning and Intelligent Tutoring Robots for Virtual Classrooms and Smart Campuses: Reforming Education in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
Ashraf Alam
Citations: 246 • 2022
Digital Innovation and Strategic Transformation
Haluk Demirkan, Jim Spohrer, J.J. Welser
Citations: 234 • 2016
Metasurface-driven full-space structured light for three-dimensional imaging
Gyeongtae Kim, Yeseul Kim, Jooyeong Yun, Seong‐Won Moon, Seokwoo Kim, Jae‐Kyung Kim, Junkyeong Park, Trevon Badloe, Inki Kim, Junsuk Rho
Citations: 233 • 2022
A Mismatch in the Human Realism of Face and Voice Produces an Uncanny Valley
Wade J. Mitchell, Kevin A. Szerszen, Amy Shirong Lu, Paul Schermerhorn, Matthias Scheutz, Karl F. MacDorman
Citations: 228 • 2011
Evaluating the Engagement with Social Robots
Salvatore M. Anzalone, Sofiane Boucenna, Serena Ivaldi, Mohamed Chétouani
Citations: 226 • 2015
The other question: can and should robots have rights?
David J. Gunkel
Citations: 224 • 2017
Face-to-Face Interaction with Pedagogical Agents, Twenty Years Later
W. Lewis Johnson, James C. Lester
Citations: 220 • 2015