Exploring the Effects of Emotion Appropriateness on User Perception: A Delivery Drone Case Study

Viviane Herdel, Yisrael Parmet, Jessica R. Cauchard

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

Abstract

The growing presence of drones in human spaces has sparked curiosity regarding their role as social creatures. One approach to conveying the social aspects of robotic devices is to incorporate emotions. However, the social effects of emotions depend on their perceived appropriateness by humans. In this work, we investigate the psychological effects of appropriate vs. inappropriate emotions displayed on a drone in a delivery scenario. Through an online study (N =97), we observe significant differences in how people ascribe social attributes to a drone, understand both its functional acceptance (e.g., ease of use, usefulness), social acceptance (e.g., drone as an interaction partner), and assess its social competencies and human-like attributes. Overall, for a given situation of interaction, the drone is perceived more (resp. less) positively when displaying appropriate (resp. inappropriate) emotions. We conclude with a discussion on the use of emotions in drones and their psychological effects on users. This work contributes to a deeper understanding of emotion appropriateness and social interactions in robotics.

Original languageAmerican English
Title of host publicationHRI 2025 - Proceedings of the 2025 ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction
Pages747-756
Number of pages10
ISBN (Electronic)9798350378931
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Jan 2025
Event20th Annual ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction, HRI 2025 - Melbourne, Australia
Duration: 4 Mar 20256 Mar 2025

Publication series

NameACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction

Conference

Conference20th Annual ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction, HRI 2025
Country/TerritoryAustralia
CityMelbourne
Period4/03/256/03/25

Keywords

  • Acceptability
  • Affective Computing
  • Emotion Appropriateness
  • Human-Drone Interaction
  • Robotics

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Human-Computer Interaction
  • Electrical and Electronic Engineering

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