Acceptance Toward Anthropomorphic Robots Decreases at Group Level: The Roles of Self-Construal and Ambivalent Attitudes

With the growing prevalence of human–robot interactions, understanding factors influencing individuals’ acceptance of robots is imperative. This study investigated how individuals with independent versus interdependent self-construal differ in their acceptance intentions toward anthropomorphic robots at both individual and group levels, while examining the role of ambivalent attitudes (N = 474). Results indicated that: independent self-construal individuals exhibited lower ambivalent attitudes and higher acceptance toward low-anthropomorphic robots; interdependent self-construal individuals showed reduced ambivalent attitudes and enhanced acceptance toward highly anthropomorphic robots. Ambivalent attitudes negatively predicted acceptance intentions. Notably, individuals displayed heightened ambivalent attitudes and diminished acceptance at the group level compared to the individual level. These findings provide actionable insights for robot design and marketing: for design, tailoring anthropomorphism to cultural contexts; for marketing, avoiding strategies that trigger group-level evaluation to reduce resistance.