Peter E. McKenna
Papers
8
Total Citations
102
H-Index
6
About
Peter E. McKenna is a leading researcher at the intersection of human-robot interaction, trust, and social cognition. His work focuses on how robots can understand and simulate human mental states—particularly Theory of Mind—to build more effective and trustworthy collaborations. McKenna’s major contributions include pioneering the use of the mixed-methods Delphi technique for psychometric scale development, resulting in a new Propensity to Trust scale (35 citations). He has also explored how robot facial expressions, embodiment, and cultural signals influence user trust and behavior, with studies on conversational agents and expressive robots for autism spectrum condition training. His meta-analysis on vulnerability and trust in human-robot interaction (8 citations) provides a critical framework for understanding trust dynamics. McKenna’s research, cited over 100 times, is notable for its interdisciplinary approach, combining psychology, robotics, and design. His work on Theory of Mind for robot navigation and collaboration has been recognized as foundational for developing socially intelligent robots that can earn and maintain human trust in real-world settings.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1
- 2Exploring Theory of Mind for Human-Robot Collaboration20 citations · 2022
- 3
- 4Do You Think I Approve of That? Designing Facial Expressions for a Robot10 citations · 2017
- 5A Meta-Analysis of Vulnerability and Trust in Human–Robot Interaction8 citations · 2024
- 6Cultural Social Signal Interplay with an Expressive Robot7 citations · 2018
- 7Theory of Mind and Trust in Human-Robot Navigation6 citations · 2023
- 8