Can a robot teach me that? Children’s ability to imitate robots

• Published in: Journal of experimental child psychology Vol. 203; p. 105040
• Main Authors: Sommer, Kristyn, Slaughter, Virginia, Wiles, Janet, Owen, Kathryn, Chiba, Andrea A., Forster, Deborah, Malmir, Mohsen, Nielsen, Mark
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.03.2021
• Subjects: Child–robot interaction; human-robot interaction; Imitation; observational learning; Robot deficit; social learning; social learning; human-robot interaction; observational learning; Child–robot interaction; Robot deficit; Imitation
• ISSN: 0022-0965; 1096-0457
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2020.105040

Commensurate with constant technological advances, social robots are increasingly anticipated to enter homes and classrooms; however, little is known about the efficacy of social robots as teaching tools. To investigate children’s learning from robots, 1- to 3-year-olds observed either a human or a robot demonstrate two goal-directed object manipulation tasks and were then given the opportunity to act on the objects. Children exhibited less imitation from robotic models that varied with task complexity and age, a phenomenon we term the “robot deficit.” In addition, the more children engaged with the robot prior to administration of the imitation task, the more likely they were to replicate the robot’s actions. These findings document how children are able to learn from robots but that ongoing design of robotic platforms needs to be oriented to developing more socially engaging means of interacting.