Pimp my language! The influence of robot customization duration on psychological ownership and trust

Abstract

Involving users in the design of novel technologies is an efficient way to improve attitudes and trust towards them. For example, users may adapt a robots' characteristics to their preferences and needs. To date, research on the customization of robot functionalities is still scarce, with existing work predominantly focusing on the influence of perceived, rather than actual user involvement in the design process. Furthermore, it remains unknown whether the effects of customization depend on merely choosing options, or actively implementing these options. Thus, in the present experiment we investigate whether actual time invested in choosing options (i.e., words that a robot would learn) and implementing these chosen options (i.e., defining the words to a robot in one's own terms) influence psychological ownership and trust towards a customized robot. We found that actual time involved in the design of a robot's functionality may not have the expected influence on psychological ownership, anthropomorphism, and trust towards a robot. Contrary to our hypotheses, time invested in choosing options slightly decreased perceived control and psychological ownership over the robot. The results imply a potential influence of task difficulty, which might hint at perceived self-efficacy being a determinant of psychological ownership.