People are more likely to accept suggestions from robots with cute features. — Pixabay
BERLIN: It's a long-standing movie or soap opera conceit: an eyelash-batting hair-twirling blonde or brunette in a low-cut blouse coyly coaxing a hapless would-be suitor into spending money on something the no-hoper neither wants nor needs.
There seemingly is some truth to the trope, at least when it comes to the service robots increasingly being deployed in restaurants, according to tests carried out by Penn State University researchers.
Designing robots to have so-called "cute features" – such as big eyes and raised cheeks – were more or less equally likely to find "similar acceptance of the recommendation" among men and women and in response to "male-like and female-like robots."
"In addition to robot gender, a consumer’s sense of power – how individuals perceive their ability to influence others or their environment – can also affect how successful a service robot can be in making recommendations," said Anna Mattila, Marriott professor of lodging management at Penn State.
Mattila and colleagues asked over 200 participants to "rate their sense of power" before a scenario in which a robot waiter gives them menu options and recommendations.
The most susceptible group of people turned out to be "powerless female consumers," which the team found to be more likely than others to go with menu suggestions made by male-like robots.
"We found women with a low sense of power were more prone to accept a male robot's recommendations," said Penn State’s Lavi Peng. "For men with a low sense of power, we found the difference was less obvious," Peng added.
Previous related research hinted that robots designed to look and talk with female "cuteness" were often more acceptable to people due to them "triggering emotional attachment, increasing perceived warmth and sociability, improving trust," according to the Penn State team.
But the latest findings suggest that robots made to sound male could be a better option in some cases than doe-eyed female bots.
Such gravel-voiced machines "may be more effective when performing persuasive tasks, such as promoting new products and offering menu recommendations," the team explained, in a paper published by the Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management.
A study carried out last year by George Mason University scientists found that people inclined to put up with or overlook robots telling white lies in medical or health-related settings. – dpa/Tribune News Service
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