Emotional Contagion in Human-Robot Interaction

Authors

  • Chung-En Yu Innovation & Management in Tourism Salzburg University of Applied Sciences

Keywords:

emotional contagion, humanoid robot, robot service, engagement, social media

Abstract

Emotional contagion is particularly important in face-to-face interaction, and hospitality industry is no exception. Given that emotion is contagious, its effects in human-robot interaction remain largely unknown. This paper takes Sophia, the first humanoid robot that can display emotions, as a reference point, and investigates the emotional effect on online users’ conative reactions. The results demonstrated that the expression of fear and disgust serves as the influential factors in affecting interests and engagements. Nevertheless, emotional contagion still deserves further exploration. Overall, this research contributes to the existing body of literature related to humanlike service robot, emotional contagion, and human-robot interaction.

Author Biography

Chung-En Yu, Innovation & Management in Tourism Salzburg University of Applied Sciences

Chung-En (Joanne) Yu received a BSc in Tourism Event Management from Institute for Tourism Studies (IFT) Macau. Currently she is a master student in Innovation and Management in Tourism at Salzburg University of Applied Sciences. Her research interests center on the psychological and sociological phenomena, consumer experiences and emerging technologies in tourism and hospitality.

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Published

2020-01-01

How to Cite

Yu, C.-E. (2020) “Emotional Contagion in Human-Robot Interaction”, e-Review of Tourism Research, 17(5). Available at: https://ertr-ojs-tamu.tdl.org/ertr/article/view/561 (Accessed: 20 April 2024).

Issue

Vol. 17 No. 5 (2020)

Section

Late Breaking Results

License

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