People prefer interacting with female robots in hotels, study finds


Date:
February 3, 2022
Source:
Washington State University
Summary:
People are more comfortable talking to female rather than male
robots working in service roles in hotels, according to new
research. The study, which surveyed about 170 people on hypothetical
service robot scenarios, also found that the preference was stronger
when the robots were described as having more human features.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== People are more comfortable talking to female rather than male robots
working in service roles in hotels, according to a study by Washington
State University researcher Soobin Seo.


==========================================================================
The study, which surveyed about 170 people on hypothetical service robot scenarios, also found that the preference was stronger when the robots
were described as having more human features. The findings are detailed
in a paper published online in the International Journal of Hospitality Management.

"People have a tendency to feel more comfort in being cared for by
females because of existing gender stereotyping about service roles,"
said Seo, an assistant professor of hospitality management at WSU's
Carson Business College in Everett. "That gender stereotype appears to
transfer to robot interactions, and it is more amplified when the robots
are more human like." Even before the pandemic, the hotel industry
struggled with high turnover of employees, and Seo noted that some
hotels have turned to robots and automation for a variety of functions
from dishwashing and room cleaning to customer service such as greeting
guests and delivering luggage.

Examples range from the female humanized robots named "Pepper" at the
Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Las Vegas to the fully automated FlyZoo hotel
chain in China where guests interact only with robots and artificial intelligence (AI) features.

For the study, survey participants were presented with one of four
scenarios about interacting with an AI service robot at a hotel. In one scenario, they were greeted by a male service robot named "Alex" who
was described as having a face and human-like body. A second scenario
was worded exactly the same with just two changes: the robot's gender
was female, and its name was "Sara." In two other scenarios, the robots
were both gendered and named differently but described as "machine-like'
with an interactive screen instead of a face.

The respondents were then asked to rank how they felt about the
interactions.

The participants who were presented with the female robot scenarios
rated the experience as more pleasant and satisfying than those who had scenarios with male robots. The preference for the female robot was more pronounced when the robots were described as looking more human.

Seo cautioned that replacing human hospitality workers with AI robots of
any gender raises many issues that need further research. For instance,
if a robot breaks down or fails in service in some way, such as losing
luggage or getting a reservation wrong, customers may want a human
employee to help them.

The WSU business researcher is also in the process of investigating
how the personality of AI robots may impact customers' perceptions,
such as if they are extroverted and talkative or introverted and quiet.

These are important considerations for AI robot developers as well as
for hospitality employers to consider as they think about adopting robots
more widely, Seo said.

"We may start to see more robots as replacements of human employees in
hotels and restaurants in the future, so we may find that some of the psychological relationships that we see in human-to-human interaction
also implemented in robot interactions," she said.

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dreams in this free online course from New Scientist -- Sign_up_now_>>> ========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Washington_State_University. Original written by Sara Zaske. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Soobin Seo. When Female (Male) Robot Is Talking To Me: Effect
of service
robots' gender and anthropomorphism on customer satisfaction.

International Journal of Hospitality Management, 2022; 102: 103166
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhm.2022.103166 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/02/220203083556.htm

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