How children learn from robots: Educational implications of communicative style and gender in child–robot interaction

This study examined how primary school children respond to the communicative style and perceived gender of a humanoid robot during a controlled educational interaction. A total of 251 children (ages 7–12) interacted with a robot programmed to use either a polite asking style or a firm commanding style, and presented with either a female or male persona. We investigated whether children would imitate the robot's style (H1), and whether child age and gender would predict their tendency to anthropomorphize the robot (H2–H3). Results showed that children interacting with a polite robot almost always responded politely, whereas those encountering a commanding robot still overwhelmingly responded in a polite manner rather than mirroring its tone. Younger children and girls displayed significantly higher levels of anthropomorphization of the robot. Contrary to expectations (H4), the degree of imitation did not correlate with anthropomorphism. An ANOVA (H5) indicated that the robot's persona (gender × communication style) influenced anthropomorphism: the polite-female robot elicited the highest anthropomorphism scores, though post-hoc differences were nonsignificant. A regression analysis (H6) confirmed child age and gender as significant predictors of anthropomorphization. These findings underscore the importance of social cues in child–robot educational interactions. Tailoring a robot's communication style to children's developmental level and social expectations can enhance children's engagement and potentially support positive learning outcomes.