The Healthcare Robot Study: The effect of robot social behaviours on human-robot interactions

Participants will engage in a scripted interaction with an ‘Eve-R’ robot during which they will ask the robot questions from a set script. This initial interaction will take place in a simulated general practice clinic environment and will involve the participant asking the robot to tell them about the medical practice and the robot responding to this request. This interaction will take approximately 5 minutes. The purpose of this initial interaction is to minimise any novelty effects that come with interacting with a robot for the first time. Immediately following the initial interaction, participants will be randomised to one of two conditions: a condition in which the robot will use humour during the interaction or a condition in which humour will be absent. Aside from the use of humour, all other aspects of this interaction, and the robots’ responses, will be identical. During these interactions, participants will read from an identical script and will ask the robot about ways in which they can protect themselves from getting the flu. This interaction will also take approximately 5 minutes. The robot will respond with a number of ways in which this goal can be achieved and will ask the participant questions during the course of the interaction. A Post-Interaction Questionnaire will be completed following each interaction which will measure participant ratings of robot likability, intelligence, animacy, safety, empathy, and anthropomorphism, between the neutral and intervention groups.