Social Robots as Decision-Making Companions: Exploring the Impact of Social Cues on Human Responses

Making decisions, particularly ones fraught with ambiguity, inherently induces stress, which is a recognized contributor to long-term mental health issues. In high-stakes or uncertain environments, stress can significantly impair decision quality and well-being. Social robots offer a promising solution by potentially providing companionship and cognitive assistance in such scenarios. This study investigates the influence of verbal social cues used by social robots on human responses. In a laboratory setting, 60 participants interacted with the Alpha Mini robot, a programmable social agent, for 30min. The robot offered advice using combinations of controlling language (high versus low) and social praise (absent versus present) in a between-subject design setup while playing a decision-making computer game. Post-interaction, social responses were measured using questionnaires. Results revealed strong, positive correlations between participants’ enjoyment of interacting with the robot and their intention to use it again in the future, as well as their liking and trust in the robot’s advice. These correlations were statistically significant (p<0.01) and suggest that positive user experiences can translate into continued engagement. Positive responses were observed regardless of the specific social cues employed. To design effective human–robot interactions (HRI), multiple social cues should be integrated using high controlling language for clarity and direction paired with social praise to soften the tone in order to enhance trust, enjoyment, and effectiveness. Future work might enhance the current findings by integrating physiological data into the measures used to assess emotional responses to the robot and its cues. Additionally, expanding participant demographics and incorporating longitudinal studies could further validate and extend these results.