Effects of sensory reactivity and haptic interaction on children's anthropomorphism of a haptic robot

Abstract

Social touch is vital for developing stable attachments and social skills, and haptic robots could provide children opportunities to develop those attachments and skills. However, haptic robots are not guaranteed suitable for every child, and individual differences exist in accepting these robots. In this study, we proposed that screening children's sensory reactivity can predict the suitable and challenging attributes for accepting these robots. Additionally, we investigated how sensory reactivity influences the tendency to anthropomorphize a haptic robot, as anthropomorphizing a robot is considered an indicator of accepting the robot. Sixty-seven preschool children aged 5–6 years participated. Results showed that the initial anthropomorphic tendency toward the robot was more likely to decrease with increasing atypicality in sensory reactivity, and haptic interaction with the robot tended to promote anthropomorphic tendency. A detailed analysis focusing on children's sensory insensitivity revealed polarized results: those actively seeking sensory information (i.e., sensory seeking) showed a lower anthropomorphic tendency toward the robot, whereas those who were passive (i.e., low registration) showed a higher anthropomorphic tendency. Importantly, haptic interaction with the robot mitigated the lower anthropomorphic tendency observed in sensory seekers. Finally, we found that the degree of anthropomorphizing the robot. positively influenced physiological arousal level. These results indicate that children with atypical sensory reactivity may accept robots through haptic interaction This extends previous research by demonstrating how individual sensory reactivity profiles modulate children's robot acceptance through physical interaction rather than visual observation alone. Future robots must be designed to interact in ways tailored to each child's sensory reactivity to develop stable attachment and social skills.