The effect of a social robot on the sharing behavior of 3- to 5-year-old children

doi:10.3724/SP.J.1041.2025.0573

Abstract

Abstract:

This study investigates the influence of social robots on the prosocial behaviors of children aged three and five. Experiment 1 explored the impact of different observers (human, social robot, no) on the sharing behaviors of these children. The results indicated that 5-year-olds shared significantly more stickers than 3-year-olds in the absence of an observer. For 3-year-olds, the presence of human and robot observers led to significantly more sharing than when no observer was present, with no significant differences between the human and robot conditions. Experiment 2 manipulated the psychological agency of social robots (with, without, control group) and found that 3-year-olds shared more stickers under the observation of robots with psychological agency compared to the other two conditions, showing increased prosocial behaviors. This research suggests that the prosocial behaviors of 3-year-olds can be influenced by the psychological agency of robots, providing perspectives and evidence for future applications and studies in human-robot interaction.

Key words: social robots, prosocial behavior, sharing behaviors, psychological agency

LI Hui, LIU Siyi, PANG Yi. (2025). The effect of a social robot on the sharing behavior of 3- to 5-year-old children. Acta Psychologica Sinica, 57(4), 573-583.

Figures/Tables 5

References 48

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Age	Human Observer		Robot observer		No observer
Age	M	SD	M	SD	M	SD
3-year-old	3.11	2.61	3.59	2.19	1.59	2.06
5-year-old	3.93	1.59	3.11	2.33	3.30	1.98

Age	Human Observer		Robot observer		No observer
Age	M	SD	M	SD	M	SD
3-year-old	3.11	2.61	3.59	2.19	1.59	2.06
5-year-old	3.93	1.59	3.11	2.33	3.30	1.98

Age	Biological		Psychological		Perceptual		Living		Artificial
Age	M	SD	M	SD	M	SD	M	SD	M	SD
3-year-old	0.70	0.91	1.15	0.91	1.59	0.70	0.73	0.55	0.62	0.70
5-year-old	0.15	0.37	1.22	0.87	1.08	0.70	0.54	0.65	1.52	0.94
Total	0.43	0.74	1.18	0.89	1.33	0.74	0.64	0.61	1.07	0.94

Age	Biological		Psychological		Perceptual		Living		Artificial
Age	M	SD	M	SD	M	SD	M	SD	M	SD
3-year-old	0.70	0.91	1.15	0.91	1.59	0.70	0.73	0.55	0.62	0.70
5-year-old	0.15	0.37	1.22	0.87	1.08	0.70	0.54	0.65	1.52	0.94
Total	0.43	0.74	1.18	0.89	1.33	0.74	0.64	0.61	1.07	0.94

Properties	Biological		Psychological		Perceptual		Living		Artificial
Properties	M	SD	M	SD	M	SD	M	SD	M	SD
With	0.69	0.92	1.16	0.89	1.35	0.90	1.16	0.73	1.10	0.91
Without	0.43	0.70	0.84	0.93	1.27	0.98	0.40	0.49	1.20	0.86
Total	0.56	0.83	1.00	0.92	1.31	0.94	0.78	0.73	1.15	0.88