Affective Robots Need Therapy

Emotion researchers have begun to converge on the theory that emotions are psychologically and socially constructed. A common assumption in affective robotics is that emotions are categorical brain-body states that can be confidently modeled. But if emotions are constructed, then they are interpretive, ambiguous, and specific to an individual’s unique experience. Constructivist views of emotion pose several challenges to affective robotics: first, it calls into question the validity of attempting to obtain objective measures of emotion through rating scales or biometrics. Second, ambiguous subjective data poses a challenge to computational systems that need structured and definite data to operate. How can a constructivist view of emotion be rectified with these challenges? In this article, we look to psychotherapy for ontological, epistemic, and methodological guidance. These fields (1) already understand emotions to be intrinsically embodied, relative, and metaphorical and (2) have built up substantial knowledge informed by everyday practice. It is our hope that by using interpretive methods inspired by therapeutic approaches, HRI researchers will be able to focus on the practicalities of designing effective embodied emotional interactions.