Improving Attitudes toward Service Robots: The Role of Self-view and Anthropomorphism

Consumers are reluctant to adopt service robots because they perceive them as lacking human-like cognitive and affective abilities. Increasing anthropomorphism - the attribution of mental states to nonhuman agents - can therefore facilitate robot adoption. This research identifies an antecedent to robot anthropomorphism: Self-view. Five studies show that interdependent (vs. independent) individuals hold more favourable attitudes towards service robots. This relationship is mediated by the interdependents' tendency to perceive robots as more similar to the self and ascribe more human-like features to them. This research contributes to the AI and anthropomorphism literature and provides a strategy for facilitating robot adoption.