Work

Can You Handle The Truth? The Effects of Robots Correcting Users’ Misalignment on Trust and Perceived Social Competence

Year: 2025

Type: conference-paper

Abstract: For social robots to collaborate effectively, they must infer and correct false human beliefs, especially when misconceptions directly impact task outcomes or pose safety risks to humans. In this work, we investigated whether a robot’s ability to detect and rectify users’ false beliefs improves trust and perceived social competence. In an in-person between-subject study, 98 participants collaborated with a robot to solve a task. Participants interacted with either a robot that actively corrected their false beliefs by using Theory of Mind or one that complied with their incorrect instructions. Contrary to expectations, trust, mental state attribution, and perceived warmth or competence did not differ between groups. The results also showed that human reluctance to trust the robot’s input persisted, suggesting that belief correction alone cannot overcome relational barriers. In addition, the study showed that participants who trusted the robot’s corrections perceived it as more socially attuned.

Source: IEEE International Conference on Robot and Human Interactive Communication (RO-MAN)

DOI: 10.1109/ro-man63969.2025.11217739

Authors: Mehdi Hellou, Georgios Angelopoulos, Samuele Vinanzi, Alessandra Rossi, Silvia Rossi, Angelo Cangelosi

Institutions: University of Manchester, University of Naples Federico II, Sheffield Hallam University

Language: English

Topic: Social Robot Interaction and HRI

Subfield: Social Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funders: UK Research and Innovation, European Commission, HORIZON EUROPE Framework Programme, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council