Effects of Anthropomorphizing Robots by Naming Them on Relationship Between Attachment and Support Acceptability While Reviewing Driving

Abstract

To reduce traffic accidents by elderly drivers, we have been developing a robot that reviews their driving with them after returning home. The users put the robot in the car when driving, and reviews their driving with the robot when they get home. In reviewing own driving together with the robot, they may accept the robot’s advice (support acceptability), according to increase attachment to the robot. Naming the robot is considered to be a way to increase the attachment. In this paper, we conducted an experiment focusing on naming the robot. As the result, the correlation between attachment to the robot and support acceptability lowered in the case of naming. It is possible that increased attachment to robots may not lead directly to improved support acceptability.