A toy or a friend? Children's anthropomorphic beliefs about robots and how these relate to second‐language word learning

This study investigates the degree to which children anthropomorphize a robot tutor and whether this anthropomorphism relates to their vocabulary learning in a second‐language (L2) tutoring intervention. With this aim, an anthropomorphism questionnaire was administered to 5‐year‐old children (N = 10...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of computer assisted learning Vol. 37; no. 2; pp. 396 - 410
Main Authors: Berghe, Rianne, Haas, Mirjam, Oudgenoeg‐Paz, Ora, Krahmer, Emiel, Verhagen, Josje, Vogt, Paul, Willemsen, Bram, Wit, Jan, Leseman, Paul
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Chichester, UK John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.04.2021
Wiley
Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
Subjects:
Anthropomorphism
Beliefs
Boys
Children
Children & youth
child‐robot interaction
Cognition
Cognitive ability
Correlation
Correlation analysis
educational robots
Educational Technology
Expectations
Gender Differences
Girls
Humanoid
Language acquisition
Language attitudes
Learning
Mechanical properties
Perception
Property
Psychology
Questionnaires
robot tutoring
Robotics
Robots
Second Language Instruction
Second language learning
Second language vocabulary learning
Student Attitudes
Teaching Methods
Tests
Tutoring
Vocabulary
Vocabulary Development
Young Children
ISSN:0266-4909, 1365-2729
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Summary:This study investigates the degree to which children anthropomorphize a robot tutor and whether this anthropomorphism relates to their vocabulary learning in a second‐language (L2) tutoring intervention. With this aim, an anthropomorphism questionnaire was administered to 5‐year‐old children (N = 104) twice: prior to and following a seven‐session L2 vocabulary training with a humanoid robot. On average, children tended to anthropomorphize the robot prior to and after the lessons to a similar degree, but many children changed their attributed anthropomorphic features. Boys anthropomorphized the robot less after the lessons than girls. Moreover, there was a weak but significant positive correlation between anthropomorphism as measured before the lessons and scores on a word‐knowledge post‐test administered the day after the last lesson. There was also a weak but significant positive correlation between the change in anthropomorphism over time and scores on a word‐knowledge post‐test administered approximately 2 weeks after the last lesson. Our results underscore the need to manage children's expectations in robot‐assisted education. Also, future research could explore adaptations to individual children's expectations in child‐robot interactions. Lay Description What is already known about this topic Children tend to anthropomorphize robots Standardized tests for anthropomorphism are not suitable for young children What this paper adds Children's overall anthropomorphism score stays the same over seven one‐on‐one sessions with a robot. Children attribute more cognitive abilities to the robot and fewer mechanical properties over time Gender and age are related to changes in anthropomorphism Children's anthropomorphism is (weakly) correlated with their learning performance. Implications for practice and/or policy A first step towards a validated questionnaire about children's anthropomorphism of robots The robot's apparent cognitive abilities seem to play a role in a human‐like perception of the robot over time In the future, perception of the robot can be taken into consideration when designing robot‐assisted tutoring sessions.
Bibliography:Funding information
Horizon 2020 Framework Programme, Grant/Award Number: 688014
Rianne van den Berghe and Mirjam de Haas had equal contributions.
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ISSN:0266-4909
1365-2729
DOI:10.1111/jcal.12497