Trial reportJournal of medical Internet research2019
The Effect of Robot Attentional Behaviors on User Perceptions and Behaviors in a Simulated Health Care Interaction: Randomized Controlled Trial.
Trial report in Journal of medical Internet research, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Care Robots as Emerging Health Technologies: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Pooled it
- Are nursing students ready for robotic nurses in obstetrics and gynecologic clinics? a cross-sectional study.BMC nursing · 2025Article
- The Impact of Human-Robot Collaboration Levels on Postural Stability During Working Tasks Performed While Standing: Experimental Study.JMIR human factors · 2025Article
- A social robot-based platform for health behavior change toward prevention of childhood obesity.Universal access in the information society · 2022Article
- Artificial intelligence technologies and compassion in healthcare: A systematic scoping review.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Article
- Robot Pets as "Serious Toys"- Activating Social and Emotional Experiences of Elderly People.Information systems frontiers : a journal of research and innovation · 2021Article
- Guidance for Acupuncture Robot with Potentially Utilizing Medical Robotic Technologies.Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2021Review
- Acceptability of Using a Robotic Nursing Assistant in Health Care Environments: Experimental Pilot Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundFor robots to be effectively used in health applications, they need to display appropriate social behaviors. A fundamental requirement in all social interactions is the ability to engage, maintain, and demonstrate attention. Attentional behaviors include leaning forward, self-disclosure, and changes in voice pitch.
objectiveThis study aimed to examine the effect of robot attentional behaviors on user perceptions and behaviors in a simulated health care interaction.
methodsA parallel randomized controlled trial with a 1:1:1:1 allocation ratio was conducted. We randomized participants to 1 of 4 experimental conditions before engaging in a scripted face-to-face interaction with a fully automated medical receptionist robot. Experimental conditions included a self-disclosure condition, voice pitch change condition, forward lean condition, and neutral condition. Participants completed paper-based postinteraction measures relating to engagement, perceived robot attention, and perceived robot empathy. We video recorded interactions and coded for participant attentional behaviors.
resultsA total of 181 participants were recruited from the University of Auckland. Participants who interacted with the robot in the forward lean and self-disclosure conditions found the robot to be significantly more stimulating than those who interacted with the robot in the voice pitch or neutral conditions (P=.03). Participants in the forward lean, self-disclosure, and neutral conditions found the robot to be significantly more interesting than those in the voice pitch condition (P<.001). Participants in the forward lean and self-disclosure conditions spent significantly more time looking at the robot than participants in the neutral condition (P<.001). Significantly, more participants in the self-disclosure condition laughed during the interaction (P=.01), whereas significantly more participants in the forward lean condition leant toward the robot during the interaction (P<.001).
conclusionsThe use of self-disclosure and forward lean by a health care robot can increase human engagement and attentional behaviors. Voice pitch changes did not increase attention or engagement. The small effects with regard to participant perceptions are potentially because of the limitations in self-report measures or a lack of comparison for most participants who had never interacted with a robot before. Further research could explore the use of self-disclosure and forward lean using a within-subjects design and in real health care settings.
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