Exploring behaviours perceived as important for human—Dog bonding and their translation to a robotic platform

Abstract

To facilitate long-term engagement with social robots, emerging evidence suggests that modelling robots on social animals with whom many people form enduring social bonds–specifically, pet dogs–may be useful. However, scientific understanding of the features of pet dogs that are important for establishing and maintaining social bonds remains limited to broad qualities that are liked, as opposed to specific behaviours. To better understand dog behaviours that are perceived as important for facilitating social bonds between owner and pet, we surveyed current dog owners (n = 153) with open-ended questions about their dogs’ behaviours. Thematic analysis identified 7 categories of behaviours perceived as important to human—dog bonding, including: 1) attunement, 2) communication, 3) consistency and predictability, 4) physical affection, 5) positivity and enthusiasm, 6) proximity, and 7) shared activities. We consider the feasibility of translating these behaviours into a social robotic platform, and signpost potential barriers moving forward. In addition to providing insight into important behaviours for human—dog bonding, this work provides a springboard for those hoping to implement dog behaviours into animal-like artificial agents designed for social roles.

Young adults’ views on the mechanisms underpinning the impact of pets on symptoms of anxiety and depression

“…The young adults in our study felt that both pet dogs and cats were attuned and responsive to their emotions, and this was important for improving low mood; such sensitivity and responsiveness can aid attachment development and have been found to be important for mental health in previous studies with adults (52,53). Consistency, predictability, proximity, eye contact, and shared meaningful activities (e.g., play) and mutual enjoyment (e.g., enthusiasm during human-pet reunion) are also important for human-pet bonding, particularly for dog owners (52), and were important mechanisms identified by the young adults in our study that explain the mood-enhancing effects of pets. The "moodboosting" effects of pets were also attributed to the ability of both dogs and cats to increase fun and laughter, thus reducing symptoms of anxiety and depression through comic relief, in line with past human-animal interaction (HAI) (20,54) and mental health research (55).…”

Social robots in research on social and cognitive development in infants and toddlers: A scoping review

“…The Android and mechanical configurations of the same robot are shown in image (h). The image sources are: a) [ 70 ]; b) [ 71 ]; c) [ 72 ]; d) [ 73 ]; e) [ 74 ]; f) [ 75 ]; g) [ 76 ]; h) [ 77 ]; i) [ 78 ]; j) [ 79 ]; k & l); [ 80 ].…”