Initial expectations, interactions, and beyond with social robots

The current study builds upon our previous research on the human-to-human interaction script, which suggests that people expect to interact with other humans when encountering an initial interaction. This expectation impacts the initial impressions people have when interacting with social robots. The current experiment examined how short interactions might change those initial impressions. Participants were less uncertain and perceived greater social presence after a single brief interaction with a humanoid social robot. Social presence decreased after a short interaction with a human. These data suggest that initial impressions based on the human-to-human interaction script may impact actual interaction and the impressions that result from it. Open-ended responses suggest the potential for hyperpersonal communication in human-robot interaction. These findings are further discussed, as are limitations and directions for future research. The paper concludes with an agenda for applying constructivist interpersonal communication frameworks to human-robot interaction studies.