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Sally and… Cozmo? Training theory of mind using a toy robot: a pilot study
Davide Ghiglino1, Federica Floris2,3, Davide De Tommaso1
1Social Cognition in Human-Robot Interaction, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Italy.
Introduction:
Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often show impairments in Theory of Mind (ToM). This pilot study examined whether a commercially available toy robot (Cozmo) could support false-belief training within an Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) framework.
Methods:
Fourteen children with ASD completed a two-period crossover design comparing robot-assisted training with standard therapy. Sessions used adapted false-belief tasks (Deceptive Box, Sally-Anne) delivered through therapist-controlled interactions with Cozmo. ToM and emotion recognition were assessed with NEPSY-II at T0, T1, and T2.
Results:
Robot-assisted sessions produced greater improvements than standard therapy alone on both NEPSY-II Emotion Recognition and ToM subscales, as confirmed by mixed-effects models.
Discussion:
Findings suggest that an affordable toy-like robot can be feasibly integrated into structured clinical interventions and may enhance ToM-related outcomes in children with ASD, warranting further evaluation in larger samples.
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