The Relationship Between Extroversion and the Tendency to Anthropomorphize Robots: A Bayesian Analysis

Personality variables play an important role in how individuals relate to the world around them, including how they view their peers. Such peers now include machine entities, such as robots. This study examined the relationship between the personality trait of extroversion and the tendency to view a robot as anthropomorphic in an experimental setting. To evaluate this relationship, 486 participants were required to complete measures of the big five personality traits (The Mini IPIP) and Negative Attitudes to Robots Scale (NARS). Participants then viewed videos and images of robots performing common jobs (i.e., warehouse technician, IED detection), and then rated these robots via an assessment instrument scaling anthropomorphism. A significant positive relationship between extroversion and the tendency toward anthropomorphization of the robots was found. A Bayesian regression analysis was performed, which indicated the strength of extroversion as a predictor of the tendency to anthropomorphize. We conclude that personality dimensions influence how an individual views the robot that they interact with. These findings are important, as the relationship between personality and the tendency to anthropomorphize robots is likely to influence the acceptance and use of robots.