Politeness play a crucial role in shaping human socail behavior and determining the success of interactions. In interpersonal relationships, politeness is a significant factor influencing how humans perceive each other and establish relationships. So, how can politeness be established in the relationship between healthcare professionals and patients when they meet, and how can it be built in the relationship between humans and service robots?
Sahba Zojaji from the Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden conducted a study on "Persuasive Politeness Strategies in Group Scenarios." He believes that in human-machine relationships, it's not just about politeness, but about designing natural, respectful, and empathetic interactions, and incorporating them into both verbal and non-verbal interactions.
The study employed a scenario involving small independent dialogue groups, where participants were placed in a specific social setting and given the freedom to join a group consisting of two similar agents (humanoid robots, virtual humans, or real people). This group was situated in a virtual or real environment. Participants had to balance social acceptability and personal effort when joining the group. In this scenario, participants faced three different joining methods:
(1) Effortful Join: Choosing a path that, although socially acceptable, required more effort to join the group.
(2) Easy Join: Selecting the most effortless path, directly through the center of the group, which might not conform to social norms, hence being "out of line."
(3) Balanced Join: Choosing a path that was convenient and socially acceptable, joining the nearest group to strike a balance between effort and social acceptability.
The study shows that participants tend to adhere to social norms when interacting with various entities, and it reveals the importance of polite behavior in facilitating human integration into dialogue groups. People are able to keenly identify and respond to the verbal and non-verbal politeness exhibited by humanoid robots, and the polite behavior of these robots directly influences human decisions to join teams. The research found that Pepper robots' more explicit and direct polite strategies were more effective in persuading participants to join the farthest side, leaving a positive impression. Additionally, communication means such as arm movements and eye contact also played a crucial role in influencing participants' behavior and attitudes.
The research results further indicate that the polite behavior exhibited by humanoid robots is extremely useful in public settings: in public events, humanoid robots can help new members alleviate social anxiety; through polite invitation methods, these robots can provide participants with a more approachable and inclusive environment. Based on these findings, Sahba believes that the application of humanoid robots will become increasingly widespread in public domains such as healthcare.
If polite behavior is embedded into the programming of robots, they will be better able to integrate into human society and play a role in various social situations. Sahba Zojaji emphasizes that "politeness not only enhances the social acceptability of robots but also promotes more enduring interaction and collaboration between humans and robots." This indicates that the integration of polite behavior is crucial for the successful integration of robots into society.
Reference:https://www.kth.se/om/nyheter/centrala-nyheter/artiga-robotar-en-mojlig-framtid-inom-varden-1.1329681；https://kth.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1836677/FULLTEXT01
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