Effect of Personality on Robot Acceptance

Abstract

The goal of this master thesis is to examine how different personality traits impact the acceptance of edutainment robots. This research has been done by implementing two of the most prominent theoretical models across the information system and psychology literature namely the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and the Big Five Personality traits theory.
We suggest a theoretical model which aim is to identify whether the five dimensions of personality, including agreeableness, openness to experiences, neuroticism, conscientiousness, and extraversion have an effect on two of the key factors included in TAM – perceived usefulness and ease of us that are hypothesized to be strong predeterminers of an individual’s intention to use a certain technology. This study is conducted in the context of Yoga practice utilizing the robot Alpha 1 Pro.
In order to carry out the experiment, a 5-minute Yoga class in the form of a video was created during which the robot played the role of a yoga teacher who showcased a few Yoga poses and provided instructions accordingly. The video was later distributed to yoga practitioners across Denmark. Furthermore, self-completion questionnaires were administered to measure the personality of each respondent as well as their opinion on matters related to the acceptance of the robot.
Moreover, the analysis of our data revealed that certain personality traits have a significant impact on perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use which were also positively associated with behavioural intention to use. The dimensions of Openness to experience and agreeableness were found to have a positive relationship with the robot acceptance whereas Extraversion and Conscientiousness yielded no significance. Moreover, Neuroticism was proven to have a significantly negative effect on both perceived usefulness and ease of use.