Theory of Mind in Human-Robot-Communication: Appreciated or not?

Social robots play a more and more important role in our society. For better acceptance and more fluent interactions between humans and robots it is generally assumed that implementing human-like cognitive functions within robots is helpful. A between-subjects experiment (N = 40) was conducted to investigate whether implementing a theory of mind within a humanoid robot will lead to higher acceptance of the robot. Theory of mind is considered one of the most essential prerequisites for interpersonal interaction in human-human interaction. Researchers argue that theory of mind enhanced robots capturing other person’s goals, beliefs, feelings, and intentions will perform significantly better. Subjects were presented videos of interactions with a humanoid robot that either possessed or did not possess theory of mind abilities. Results indicate subjects acknowledged the fact that a robot showing theory of mind abilities such as perspective taking followed its own intentions; that it understood the way another person behaves; that it was aware of another person’s thoughts, beliefs, and feelings. Accordingly, the robot was rated more sympathetic and higher on social attractiveness but not on task attractiveness. Implications of these results as well as limitations are discussed.