Users' Perception on Appropriateness of Robotic Coaching Assistant's Disclosure Behaviors

TL;DR

This study investigates how users perceive the appropriateness of a robotic coaching assistant's disclosure behaviors, focusing on privacy concerns and trust in different communication scenarios.

Contribution

It provides empirical insights into user perceptions of privacy and appropriateness related to robot disclosures in coaching contexts, based on a controlled online study.

Findings

Participants showed varied privacy concerns depending on disclosure type.

Proactive communication by robots was generally less trusted than on-demand disclosures.

Design implications for robotic coaching assistants to enhance user trust and privacy.

Abstract

Social robots have emerged as valuable contributors to individuals' well-being coaching. Notably, their integration into long-term human coaching trials shows particular promise, emphasizing a complementary role alongside human coaches rather than outright replacement. In this context, robots serve as supportive entities during coaching sessions, offering insights based on their knowledge about users' well-being and activity. Traditionally, such insights have been gathered through methods like written self-reports or wearable data visualizations. However, the disclosure of people's information by a robot raises concerns regarding privacy, appropriateness, and trust. To address this, we conducted an initial study with [n = 22] participants to quantify their perceptions of privacy regarding disclosures made by a robot coaching assistant. The study was conducted online, presenting participants with six prerecorded scenarios illustrating various types of information disclosure and the robot's role, ranging from active on-demand to proactive communication conditions.