IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/teinso/v76y2024ics0160791x24000125.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Contagious humans: A pandemic's positive effect on attitudes towards care robots

Author

Listed:
  • Schönmann, Manuela
  • Bodenschatz, Anja
  • Uhl, Matthias
  • Walkowitz, Gari

Abstract

History has shown that attitudes toward new technologies can change abruptly following disruptive events. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it became apparent that care robots enable increased social isolation. This feature of robotic care usually raises strong ethical concerns about potentially decreased comfort for the care-dependent. In a large-scale online study, we tested the influence of the pandemic on people's affective attitudes toward care robots. In vignettes on different care scenarios, we measured participants' perceived comfort levels in situations with care robots and human caregivers while controlling for their fear of infection with a viral disease. We found that people generally feel less comfortable with a care robot than with a human caregiver. However, those who had a strong fear of being infected during the pandemic did not devalue a care robot compared to a human caregiver. While care robots remain ethically contested, this study shows that affective attitudes toward care robots may change significantly if they can address an urgent need.

Suggested Citation

  • Schönmann, Manuela & Bodenschatz, Anja & Uhl, Matthias & Walkowitz, Gari, 2024. "Contagious humans: A pandemic's positive effect on attitudes towards care robots," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:teinso:v:76:y:2024:i:c:s0160791x24000125
    DOI: 10.1016/j.techsoc.2024.102464
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160791X24000125
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.techsoc.2024.102464?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jacob W. Crandall & Mayada Oudah & Tennom & Fatimah Ishowo-Oloko & Sherief Abdallah & Jean-François Bonnefon & Manuel Cebrian & Azim Shariff & Michael A. Goodrich & Iyad Rahwan, 2018. "Cooperating with machines," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 9(1), pages 1-12, December.
      • Abdallah, Sherief & Bonnefon, Jean-François & Cebrian, Manuel & Crandall, Jacob W. & Ishowo-Oloko, Fatimah & Oudah, Mayada & Rahwan, Iyad & Shariff, Azim & Tennom,, 2017. "Cooperating with Machines," TSE Working Papers 17-806, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE).
      • Abdallah, Sherief & Bonnefon, Jean-François & Cebrian, Manuel & Crandall, Jacob W. & Ishowo-Oloko, Fatimah & Oudah, Mayada & Rahwan, Iyad & Shariff, Azim & Tennom,, 2017. "Cooperating with Machines," IAST Working Papers 17-68, Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse (IAST).
      • Jacob Crandall & Mayada Oudah & Fatimah Ishowo-Oloko Tennom & Fatimah Ishowo-Oloko & Sherief Abdallah & Jean-François Bonnefon & Manuel Cebrian & Azim Shariff & Michael Goodrich & Iyad Rahwan, 2018. "Cooperating with machines," Post-Print hal-01897802, HAL.
    2. Boada, Júlia Pareto & Maestre, Begoña Román & Genís, Carme Torras, 2021. "The ethical issues of social assistive robotics: A critical literature review," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    3. George Loewenstein & Ted O'Donoghue & Matthew Rabin, 2003. "Projection Bias in Predicting Future Utility," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 118(4), pages 1209-1248.
    4. Park, Eunil & Ohm, Jay Y., 2014. "Factors influencing the public intention to use renewable energy technologies in South Korea: Effects of the Fukushima nuclear accident," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 198-211.
    5. Martin A. Nowak & Akira Sasaki & Christine Taylor & Drew Fudenberg, 2004. "Emergence of cooperation and evolutionary stability in finite populations," Nature, Nature, vol. 428(6983), pages 646-650, April.
    6. Christine Milchram & Geerten Van de Kaa & Neelke Doorn & Rolf Künneke, 2018. "Moral Values as Factors for Social Acceptance of Smart Grid Technologies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-23, August.
    7. Barrutia, Jose M. & Echebarria, Carmen, 2021. "Effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on public managers’ attitudes toward digital transformation," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    8. Norifumi Tsujikawa & Shoji Tsuchida & Takamasa Shiotani, 2016. "Changes in the Factors Influencing Public Acceptance of Nuclear Power Generation in Japan Since the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Disaster," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 36(1), pages 98-113, January.
    9. Jean-François Bonnefon & Fatimah Ishowo-Oloko & Zakariyah Soroye & Jacob W. Crandall & Iyad Rahwan & Tahal Rahwan, 2019. "Behavioural evidence for a transparency-efficiency tradeoff in human-machine cooperation," Post-Print hal-04121730, HAL.
    10. Anna Wnuk & Tomasz Oleksy & Dominika Maison, 2020. "The acceptance of Covid-19 tracking technologies: The role of perceived threat, lack of control, and ideological beliefs," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(9), pages 1-16, September.
    11. Aymerich-Franch, Laura & Ferrer, Iliana, 2022. "Liaison, safeguard, and well-being: Analyzing the role of social robots during the COVID-19 pandemic," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Maggioni, Mario A. & Rossignoli, Domenico, 2023. "If it looks like a human and speaks like a human ... Communication and cooperation in strategic Human–Robot interactions," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    2. Fosso Wamba, Samuel & Queiroz, Maciel M. & Hamzi, Lotfi, 2023. "A bibliometric and multi-disciplinary quasi-systematic analysis of social robots: Past, future, and insights of human-robot interaction," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 197(C).
    3. Wang, Shanyong & Wang, Jing & Lin, Shoufu & Li, Jun, 2019. "Public perceptions and acceptance of nuclear energy in China: The role of public knowledge, perceived benefit, perceived risk and public engagement," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 352-360.
    4. Thunström, Linda & Nordström, Jonas & Shogren, Jason F., 2015. "Certainty and overconfidence in future preferences for food," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 101-113.
    5. Humphreys, Brad & Ruseski, Jane & Zhou, Li, 2015. "Physical Activity, Present Bias, and Habit Formation: Theory and Evidence from Longitudinal Data," Working Papers 2015-6, University of Alberta, Department of Economics.
    6. Howard Kunreuther & Erwann Michel-Kerjan, 2015. "Demand for fixed-price multi-year contracts: Experimental evidence from insurance decisions," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 51(2), pages 171-194, October.
    7. Botond Kőszegi & Matthew Rabin, 2006. "A Model of Reference-Dependent Preferences," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 121(4), pages 1133-1165.
    8. David Laibson, 1997. "Golden Eggs and Hyperbolic Discounting," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 112(2), pages 443-478.
    9. Takuya Sekiguchi, 2023. "Fixation Probabilities of Strategies for Trimatrix Games and Their Applications to Triadic Conflict," Dynamic Games and Applications, Springer, vol. 13(3), pages 1005-1033, September.
    10. Konrad, Kai A. & Morath, Florian, 2020. "The Volunteer’s Dilemma in Finite Populations," CEPR Discussion Papers 15536, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    11. Stefano DellaVigna, 2009. "Psychology and Economics: Evidence from the Field," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 47(2), pages 315-372, June.
    12. M. Kleshnina & K. Kaveh & K. Chatterjee, 2020. "The role of behavioural plasticity in finite vs infinite populations," Papers 2009.13160, arXiv.org.
    13. Qiming Wang & Tao Zhang & Xinyue He & Rongfeng Jiang, 2017. "Assessment of Phosphorus Recovery from Swine Wastewater in Beijing, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(10), pages 1-14, October.
    14. Tuan Khanh Vuong, 2024. "Factors Affecting Households’ Electricity-Saving Behaviour: A Perspective on Sustainable Development," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 14(4), pages 440-449, July.
    15. Lukas, Moritz & Nöth, Markus, 2022. "Voluntary minimum repayments and borrower heterogeneity: Evidence from revolving consumer credit," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
    16. Samahita, Margaret & Holm, Håkan J., 2020. "Mining for Mood Effect in the Field," Working Papers 2020:2, Lund University, Department of Economics.
    17. Roland Bénabou & Jean Tirole, 2006. "Belief in a Just World and Redistributive Politics," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 121(2), pages 699-746.
    18. Chankook Park & Wan Gyu Heo & Myung Eun Lee, 2024. "Study on Consumers’ Perceived Benefits and Risks of Smart Energy System," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 14(3), pages 288-300, May.
    19. Philippe Jehiel & Andrew Lilico, 2010. "Smoking Today and Stopping Tomorrow: a Limited Foresight Perspective," CESifo Economic Studies, CESifo Group, vol. 56(2), pages 141-164, June.
    20. Alex Imas & Sally Sadoff & Anya Samek, 2017. "Do People Anticipate Loss Aversion?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 63(5), pages 1271-1284, May.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:teinso:v:76:y:2024:i:c:s0160791x24000125. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/technology-in-society .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.