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Empathy in Human–Robot Interaction: Designing for Social Robots

Author

Listed:
  • Sung Park

    (School of Design, Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah, GA 31401, USA)

  • Mincheol Whang

    (Department of Human Centered Artificial Intelligence, Sangmyung University, Seoul 03016, Korea)

Abstract

For a service robot to serve travelers at an airport or for a social robot to live with a human partner at home, it is vital for robots to possess the ability to empathize with human partners and express congruent emotions accordingly. We conducted a systematic review of the literature regarding empathy in interpersonal, virtual agents, and social robots research with inclusion criteria to analyze empirical studies in a peer-reviewed journal, conference proceeding, or a thesis. Based on the review, we define empathy for human–robot interaction (HRI) as the robot’s ( observer ) capability and process to recognize the human’s ( target ) emotional state, thoughts, and situation, and produce affective or cognitive responses to elicit a positive perception of humans. We reviewed all prominent empathy theories and established a conceptual framework that illuminates critical components to consider when designing an empathic robot, including the empathy process, outcome, and the observer and target characteristics. This model is complemented by empirical research involving empathic virtual agents and social robots. We suggest critical factors such as domain dependency, multi-modality, and empathy modulation to consider when designing, engineering, and researching empathic social robots.

Suggested Citation

  • Sung Park & Mincheol Whang, 2022. "Empathy in Human–Robot Interaction: Designing for Social Robots," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-21, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:3:p:1889-:d:744282
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Tania Singer & Ben Seymour & John P. O'Doherty & Klaas E. Stephan & Raymond J. Dolan & Chris D. Frith, 2006. "Empathic neural responses are modulated by the perceived fairness of others," Nature, Nature, vol. 439(7075), pages 466-469, January.
    2. Mirko Duradoni & Giulia Colombini & Paola Andrea Russo & Andrea Guazzini, 2021. "Robotic Psychology: A PRISMA Systematic Review on Social-Robot-Based Interventions in Psychological Domains," J, MDPI, vol. 4(4), pages 1-34, October.
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