First encounter with robot Alpha: How individual differences interact with vocal and kinetic cues in users’ social responses

2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (11-12) ◽  
pp. 2522-2547 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kun Xu
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Social Robots ◽  
Social Robot ◽  
Gender Attitudes ◽  
Individual Factors ◽  
Social Responses ◽  
Social Actors ◽  
Human Voice ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Relationship

The Computers are Social Actors (CASA) paradigm was proposed more than two decades ago to understand humans’ interaction with computer technologies. Today, as emerging technologies like social robots become more personal and persuasive, questions of how users respond to them socially, what individual factors leverage the relationship, and what constitutes the social influence of these technologies need to be addressed. A lab experiment was conducted to examine the interactions between individual differences and social robots’ vocal and kinetic cues. Results suggested that users developed more trust in a social robot with a human voice than with a synthetic voice. Users also developed more intimacy and interest in the social robot when it was paired with humanlike gestures. Moreover, individual differences including users’ gender, attitudes toward robots, and robot exposure affected their psychological responses. The theoretical, practical, and ethical value of the findings was further discussed in the study.

scholarly journals Mitigating Children’s Pain and Anxiety during Blood Draw Using Social Robots

Electronics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 1211
Author(s):  
Matthijs H. J. Smakman ◽  
Koen Smit ◽  
Lotte Buser ◽  
Tom Monshouwer ◽  
Nigel van Putten ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
Young Patients ◽  
Hospital Setting ◽  
Social Robots ◽  
Social Robot ◽  
Blood Collection ◽  
Medical Procedure ◽  
Blood Draw ◽  
The Social ◽  
Children's Pain

Young pediatric patients who undergo venipuncture or capillary blood sampling often experience high levels of pain and anxiety. This often results in distressed young patients and their parents, increased treatment times, and a higher workload for healthcare professionals. Social robots are a new and promising tool to mitigate children’s pain and anxiety. This study aims to purposefully design and test a social robot for mitigating stress and anxiety during blood draw of children. We first programmed a social robot based on the requirements expressed by experienced healthcare professionals during focus group sessions. Next, we designed a randomized controlled experiment in which the social robot was applied as a distraction method to measure its capacity to mitigate pain and anxiety in children during blood draw in a children’s hospital setting. Children who interacted with the robot showed significantly lower levels of anxiety before actual blood collection, compared to children who received regular medical treatment. Children in the middle classes of primary school (aged 6–9) seemed especially sensitive to the robot’s ability to mitigate pain and anxiety before blood draw. Children’s parents overall expressed strong positive attitudes toward the use and effectiveness of the social robot for mitigating pain and anxiety. The results of this study demonstrate that social robots can be considered a new and effective tool for lowering children’s anxiety prior to the distressing medical procedure of blood collection.

scholarly journals The Social Robot in Rehabilitation and Assistance: What is the Future?

Healthcare ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 244
Author(s):  
Daniele Giansanti
Keyword(s):  
The Elderly ◽  
Social Robots ◽  
Social Robot ◽  
Clinical Use ◽  
Research Development ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Collaborative Robotics ◽  
Research Perspectives ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Future

This commentary aims to address the field of social robots both in terms of the global situation and research perspectives. It has four polarities. First, it revisits the evolutions in robotics, which, starting from collaborative robotics, has led to the diffusion of social robots. Second, it illustrates the main fields in the employment of social robots in rehabilitation and assistance in the elderly and handicapped and in further emerging sectors. Third, it takes a look at the future directions of the research development both in terms of clinical and technological aspects. Fourth, it discusses the opportunities and limits, starting from the development and clinical use of social robots during the COVID-19 pandemic to the increase of ethical discussion on their use.

Alcohol norms and their enforcement: an assessment from a socio-legal perspective

2010 ◽  
pp. 92-112
Author(s):  
Franco Prina
Keyword(s):  
Implementation Process ◽  
Political Agenda ◽  
Social Actors ◽  
Protection Time ◽  
Legal Perspective ◽  
The Social ◽  
Alcoholic Drinks ◽  
Points Of View ◽  
Different Cultures ◽  
The Relationship

The socio-legal perspective on the alcohol legislation, including the norms concerned with the relationship between individuals and alcoholic drinks, helps answering some essentials questions: what was/is the "social construction" of the alcohol problem in different eras and different cultures and, consequently, which objectives are deemed to be worthy of pursuit through the creation or amendment of legislation? Which social actors have the ability, in a given period of time, to inscribe the relevance of innovative alcohol legislation on the political agenda and what kind of dialectic is used among those who champion points of view, competences and above all, different interests? Which interests and values would appear to meet with legislatory protection time after time? What tools, of the ample range available, are chosen to achieve the aims set out? To what extent is legislation implemented (or not implemented), and why? Which aspects of the implementation process prove to be most significant, i.e. define the actual content of the legislation "in force", and are therefore tangibly experienced by the law's end target? How much of an impact does legislation have on behavior which is subject to regulation or on problems which stem from such behavior?

scholarly journals Youth in the margin in Morocco: a qualitative approach to the perception of subjectivity and agency politics

2021 ◽  
Vol 119 ◽  
pp. 01007
Author(s):  
Ilham Sadoqi
Keyword(s):  
Social Action ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Social Actors ◽  
State Institutions ◽  
Cultural Life ◽  
The Social ◽  
Youth Agency ◽  
And Gender ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Third Moment

This paper seeks to investigate the potentials of youth agency in the margin of society and understand the prospects for social action or “Hirak” as an ongoing sweeping protest wave of a marginalized population. Based on a national qualitative study about youth and marginality in Morocco, this paper will focus on three moments. First, it will examine youth perception, their representation of their subjectivities, and how the realities and experiences of exclusion and “Hogra” manifested in inequalities, injustice, and systematic violence have shaped their beliefs and desire to act. The second moment brings to the fore their apprehension of the hegemonic powers of state institutions and social actors to determine their motivations and initiatives to articulate their actions locally and nationally under conditions of domination. The third moment will shed light on the dynamics of youth agency and the nature of their actions, be it individual or collective, subjective or rational. Similarly, it will also consider the structural limitations impinging on the social, political, cultural life, and gender relations. This paper examines the relationship between youth agency in the margin and the emergence of a new quest for social action “Hirak” in different regions of Morocco and how this might pave the way towards renegotiating the existing social contract between society and state.

scholarly journals The Social Robot and the Digital Physiotherapist: Are We Ready for the Team Play?

Healthcare ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 1454
Author(s):  
Rossella Simeoni ◽  
Federico Colonnelli ◽  
Veronica Eutizi ◽  
Matteo Marchetti ◽  
Elena Paolini ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Performance Monitoring ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Social Robots ◽  
Social Robot ◽  
Work Processes ◽  
Feedback Form ◽  
Electronic Survey ◽  
The Social ◽  
Two Samples ◽  
Periodic Monitoring

Motivation: We are witnessing two phenomena. The first is that the physiotherapist is increasingly becoming a figure that must interact with Digital Health. On the other hand, social robots through research are improving more and more in the aspects of social interaction thanks also to artificial intelligence and becoming useful in rehabilitation processes. It begins to become strategic to investigate the intersections between these two phenomena. Objective: Therefore, we set ourselves the goal of investigating the consensus and opinion of physiotherapists around the introduction of social robots in clinical practice both in rehabilitation and assistance. Procedure: An electronic survey has been developed focused on social robot-based rehabilitation and assistance and has been submitted to subjects focused on physiotherapy sciences to investigate their opinion and their level of consent regarding the use of the social robot in rehabilitation and assistance. Two samples of subjects were recruited: the first group (156 participating subjects, 79 males, 77 females, mean age 24.3 years) was in the training phase, and the second (167 participating subjects, 86 males, 81 females, mean age 42.4 years) group was involved in the work processes. An electronic feedback form was also submitted to investigate the acceptance of the proposed methodology. Results: The survey showed a consistency of the results between the two samples from which interesting considerations emerge. Contrary to stereotypes that report how AI-based devices put jobs at risk, physiotherapists are not afraid of these devices. The subjects involved in the study believe the following: (a) social robots can be reliable co-workers but will remain a complementary device; (b) their role will be of the utmost importance as an operational manager in their use and in performance monitoring; (c) these devices will allow an increase in working capacity and facilitate integration. All those involved in the study believe that the proposed electronic survey has proved to be a useful and effective tool that can be useful as a periodic monitoring tool and useful for scientific societies. Conclusions: The evolution of social robots represents an unstoppable process as does the increase in the aging of the population. Stakeholders must not look with suspicion toward these devices, which can represent an important resource, but rather invest in monitoring and consensus training initiatives.

Le vie cristiane della sicurezza sociale. I cattolici italiani e il welfare state

2013 ◽  
pp. 91-120
Author(s):  
Edoardo Bressan
Keyword(s):  
Social Security ◽  
Welfare State ◽  
State Model ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
Social State ◽  
Social Actors ◽  
The Social ◽  
Christian Socialism ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Welfare State

In Italy, from the 1930s until the end of the century, the relationship between the Catholic world and the development of the Social state becomes a very relevant theme. Social thought and Catholic historiography issues witness a European civilisation crisis, by highlighting problems of poverty and historical forms of assistance. Furthermore, by following the 1931 Pope Pius XI encyclical Quadragesimo anno these issues interacted with fascist corporativism. After 1945, other key experiences arose, as the discussion on social security as the conclusion of the whole public assistance debate shown. These themes are reported in the Bologna social week works in 1949 and in Fanfani's and La Pira's positions, which present several correspondences with British and French worlds, such as Christian socialism, Reinhold Niebuhr's thought and Maritain's remarks. The 1948 Republican Constitution adopts the Welfare State model assumptions, and it is in those very years that the problem of a system based on a universal outlook arose. Afterwards, governments of coalition led by centre and left-wing parties fostered social security through welfare and health reforms until the '80s. While this model falls into crisis, and new social actors begin to be involved in a context of subsidiarity.

Social Comparison Before, During, and After the Competition

2019 ◽  
pp. 105-142 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen M. Garcia ◽  
Zachary A. Reese ◽  
Avishalom Tor
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Social Norms ◽  
Social Comparison ◽  
Situational Factors ◽  
Individual Factors ◽  
Competitive Behavior ◽  
The Social ◽  
Upward Comparison ◽  
Entry Decisions

This chapter provides an overview of the interplay between social comparison and competition before, during, and after the competition. Competition is defined broadly to include an act or process of competition, explicit or implicit, linked to basic social comparison processes. Before the competition, the authors consider the lessons of the social comparison literature on motives, individual differences, cultural and social norms, and competition entry decisions. The authors then review relevant findings on the role of individual factors (personal and relational) as well as situational factors that affect motivation and competitive behavior during the competition. Finally, the chapter examines the social comparison literature on downward comparison, upward comparison, and competition re-entry decisions after the competition.

scholarly journals Social robots: The influence of human and robot characteristics on acceptance

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 346-358 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Bishop ◽  
Anouk van Maris ◽  
Sanja Dogramadzi ◽  
Nancy Zook
Keyword(s):  
Social Robots ◽  
Social Robot ◽  
User Characteristics ◽  
Video Clips ◽  
Robot Acceptance ◽  
Gender And Education ◽  
The Social ◽  
Gender Education ◽  
Implicit And Explicit ◽  
Explicit Measures

AbstractResearch in social robotics is focused on the development of robots that can provide physical and cognitive support in a socially interactive way. Whilst some studies have previously investigated the importance of user characteristics (age, gender, education, robot familiarity, mood) in the acceptance of social robots as well as the influence a robot’s displayed emotion (positive, negative, neutral) has on the interaction, these two aspects are rarely combined. Therefore, this study attempts to highlight the need to consider the influence that both human and robot attributes can have on social robot acceptance. Eighty-six participants completed implicit and explicit measures of mood before viewing one of three video clips containing a positive, negative or neutral social robot (Pepper) followed by questionnaires on robot acceptance and perception. Gender and education were not associated with acceptance; however, several constructs of the acceptance questionnaire significantly correlated with age and mood. For example, those younger and those experiencing sadness or loneliness were more dependent on the opinions of others (as measured by the social influence construct of the acceptance questionnaire). This highlights the importance of mood in the introduction of social robots into vulnerable populations. Robot familiarity also correlated with robot acceptance with those more familiar finding the robot less useful and less enjoyable, this is important as robots become more prominent in society. Displayed robot emotion significantly influenced acceptance and perception with the positive robot appearing more childlike than the negative and neutral robot, and the neutral robot the least helpful. These findings emphasise the importance of both user and robot characteristics in the successful integration of social robots.

From paradise to brand

2009 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 112-135
Author(s):  
Rainer Hülsse
Keyword(s):  
Present Article ◽  
Social Reality ◽  
Social World ◽  
Social Actors ◽  
Financial Centre ◽  
The Social ◽  
International Image ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Considerable Body

Metaphors construct social reality, including the actors which populate the social world. A considerable body of research has explored this reality-constituting role of metaphors, yet little attention has been paid to the attempts of social actors to influence the metaphorical structure by which they are constituted. The present article conceptualises the relationship between actor and metaphorical structure as one of mutual constitution. Empirically, it analyses how until the late 1990s Liechtenstein was constructed as an attractive financial centre by metaphors such as haven and paradise, how then a metaphorical shift constituted the country more negatively, before Liechtenstein finally fought back: with the help of the new brand-metaphor and also a professional image campaign the country tried to repair its international image.

scholarly journals The Role of Individual Differences and Situational Factors in Perception of Verbal Irony

2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 255-277 ◽  
Author(s):  
Magda Gucman
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
The State ◽  
Situational Factors ◽  
Individual Factors ◽  
State Trait Anxiety Inventory ◽  
Verbal Irony ◽  
The Social ◽  
Polish Adaptation ◽  
Social Competences

Abstract A study was conducted to analyze the influence of situational and individual factors on verbal irony perception. Participants (N = 144) rated smartness, criticality, humorousness, and offensiveness of ironic utterances and their literal equivalents. The utterances were put in various contexts, differing in terms of the structure of the interlocutors’ social ranks and the responsibility of the addressee for the described event. Additionally, participants’ state and trait of anxiety were measured using the Polish adaptation of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (Wrześniewski, Sosnowski, Jaworowska, & Fecenec, 2011) and their social competences were measured with the Social Competences Questionnaire (Matczak, 2007). Analyses showed that the structure of the interlocutors’ social ranks, the addressee’s responsibility, as well as the state and trait of anxiety can influence the perception of irony, although it does not always concern all of the variables rated herein. No link between social competences and irony perception was found.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document