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Published on: August 8, 2011
Mysterious cohabitation with socially assistive robots among three underserved groups
Othelia EunKyoung Lee1, Sojeong Baek2, Do-Hyung Park2
1School of Social Work, University of North Carolina Charlotte, Charlotte, North Carolina, United States.
Background And Objectives:
This study investigates how underserved individuals-older adults, low-income middle-aged men, and adults with disabilities-develop long-term relationships with an AI-powered socially assistive robot (SAR) named Hyodol. We examined how these relationships evolve over eight months and why emotional outcomes differ across three groups.
Research Design And Methods:
Using Colaizzi's phenomenological method, the research team analyzed 13,403 conversational segments from 12 highly engaged SAR users (four from each group). Iterative coding procedures with high inter-rater reliability yielded 10 thematic categories capturing functional, social, and emotional dimensions of SAR interactions.
Results:
Across all groups, interactions with the SAR demonstrated a consistent relational evolution from functional devices to companions to develop emotionally reciprocal patterns of communication. Each group displayed a distinct interaction profile: older adults emphasized routine companionship, middle-aged men combined emotional expression with entertainment and exploratory questioning, and persons with disabilities used the SAR to scaffold both emotional support and social participation.
Discussion And Implications:
The results reveal that human-robot relationships develop meaningfully, but not uniformly across three underserved groups. The paradox observed among middle-aged men challenges assumptions that higher engagement and relational deepening may heighten emotional vulnerability. These findings highlight the need for population-specific relational models and adaptive SAR design that considers diverse emotional needs and social contexts.
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