Does appearance affect children's selective trust in robots' social and emotional testimony?

Abstract

Robots are increasingly influencing young children's lives. However, little is known about their human-like appearance affects children's trust in robot-provided information. Study 1 used a conflict information source paradigm with 107 Chinese children aged 4–7 years to compare reactions to a humanoid robot, a non-humanoid robot, and a human. Study 2 increased ecological validity by using a single information source paradigm alongside justification and memory tasks in 92 Chinese children aged 4–7 years. The two studies showed that the humanoid appearance of the robot only affected children's selective trust of the robot in comparison situations. When the informant was alone, the robot's appearance did not affect children's endorsement. Further, children aged 6–7 years were less likely to choose the humanoid robot than 4–5 year olds and across age groups children remembered the answers to the knowledge provided by robots and humans equally well.