Attachment styles moderate customer responses to frontline service robots: Evidence from affective, attitudinal, and behavioral measures

2021 ◽  
Vol 38 (5) ◽  
pp. 881-895
Author(s):  
Rumen Pozharliev ◽  
Matteo De Angelis ◽  
Dario Rossi ◽  
Simona Romani ◽  
Willem Verbeke ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Attachment Styles ◽  
Service Robots ◽  
Behavioral Measures ◽  
Frontline Service

scholarly journals Replaced by a Robot: Service Implications in the Age of the Machine

2020 ◽  
pp. 109467052093335 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fraser McLeay ◽  
Victoria Sophie Osburg ◽  
Vignesh Yoganathan ◽  
Anthony Patterson
Keyword(s):  
Service Provider ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Personal Characteristics ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Service Robots ◽  
Service Employees ◽  
Customer Perceptions ◽  
Self Service ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Frontline Service

Service organizations, emboldened by the imperative to innovate, are increasingly introducing robots to frontline service encounters. However, as they augment or substitute human employees with robots, they may struggle to convince a distrusting public of their brand’s ethical credentials. Consequently, this article develops and tests a holistic framework to ascertain a deeper understanding of customer perceptions of frontline service robots (FLSRs) than has previously been attempted. Our experimental studies investigate the effects of the (1) role (augmentation or substitution of human employees or no involvement) and (2) type (humanoid FLSR vs. self-service machine) of FLSRs under the following service contexts: (a) value creation model (asset-builder, service provider) and (b) service type (experience, credence). By empirically establishing our framework, we highlight how customers’ personal characteristics ( openness-to-change and preference for ethical/responsible service provider) and cognitive evaluations ( perceived innovativeness, perceived ethical/societal reputation, and perceived innovativeness-responsibility fit) influence the impact that FLSRs have on service experience and brand usage intent. Our findings operationalize and empirically support seminal frameworks from extant literature, as well as elaborate on the positive and negative implications of using robots to complement or replace service employees. Further, we consider managerial and policy implications for service in the age of machines.

Attitudes toward service robots: analyses of explicit and implicit attitudes based on anthropomorphism and construal level theory

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Khaoula Akdim ◽  
Daniel Belanche ◽  
Marta Flavián
Keyword(s):  
Implicit Attitudes ◽  
Service Robots ◽  
Construal Level ◽  
Negative Attitudes ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Explicit Attitudes ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
Human Likeness ◽  
Hospitality And Tourism ◽  
Frontline Service

Purpose Building on both the uncanny valley and construal level theories, the analyses detailed in this paper aims to address customers’ explicit and implicit attitudes toward various service robots, categorized by the degree of their human-like appearance, namely, mechanoids (low human-likeness), humanoids (medium human-likeness) and realistic robots (high human-likeness). Design/methodology/approach The analyses reflect a mixed-method approach, across three studies. A qualitative study uses focus groups to identify consensual attitudes. An experiment measures self-reported, explicit attitudes toward the three categories of robots. Another experiment explores customers’ implicit attitudes (unconscious and unintentional) toward robots, using three implicit association tests. Findings Customers express both positive and negative attitudes toward service robots. The realistic robots lead to both explicit and implicit negative attitudes, suggesting that customers tend to reject these robots in frontline service settings. Robots with lower human-likeness levels generate relatively more positive attitudes and are accepted to nearly the same extent as human employees in hospitality and tourism contexts. Practical implications Because customers reject, both consciously and unconsciously, very human-like robots in service encounters, managers should leverage this key finding, along with the more detailed results, to inform their strategic introduction of robots into hospitality frontline service settings. Originality/value The combined qualitative and quantitative studies specify and clarify customers’ implicit and explicit attitudes toward robots with different levels of human-likeness, in the real-world setting of hospitality and tourism services. Such insights can inform continued research into the effects of these service innovations.

Customer acceptance of frontline service robots in retail banking: A qualitative approach

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amelia Amelia ◽  
Christine Mathies ◽  
Paul G. Patterson
Keyword(s):  
Retail Banking ◽  
Human Robot Interaction ◽  
Service Robots ◽  
Service Robot ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
Banking Services ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Customer Acceptance ◽  
Acceptance Model ◽  
Frontline Service

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore what drives customer acceptance of frontline service robots (FSR), as a result of their interaction experiences with FSR in the context of retail banking services.Design/methodology/approachApplications of the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology and service robot acceptance model frame the exploration of customers’ interaction experiences with physical FSR to explain acceptance. A thematic analysis of information obtained through observations, focus groups and participant interviews was applied to identify themes.FindingsThis study identifies 16 dimensions that group into five main themes that influence customer acceptance of FSR in retail banking services: (1) utilitarian aspect, (2) social interaction, (3) customer responses toward FSR, (4) customer perspectives of the company brand and (5) individual and task heterogeneity. Themes 1 and 2 are labeled confirmed themes based on existing theoretical frameworks used; themes 3–5 are additional themes.Practical implicationsThis study provides actionable suggestions to allow managers to reflect on their strategy and consider ways to design and improve the delivery of services that involve FSR.Originality/valueThis study adds to our limited knowledge of how human-robot interaction research in robotics translates to a relatively new research area in frontline services and provides a step toward a comprehensive FSR acceptance model.

The parent-offspring microbiome and neurobehavioral development

2019 ◽  
Vol 42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey R. Alberts ◽  
Christopher Harshaw ◽  
Gregory E. Demas ◽  
Cara L. Wellman ◽  
Ardythe L. Morrow
Keyword(s):  
Mammalian Species ◽  
Social Emotional ◽  
Behavioral Measures ◽  
Neurobehavioral Development ◽  
Emotional Function ◽  
Neurobehavioral Outcomes ◽  
Methodological Approaches ◽  
And Behavior

Abstract We identify the significance and typical requirements of developmental analyses of the microbiome-gut-brain (MGB) in parents, offspring, and parent-offspring relations, which have particular importance for neurobehavioral outcomes in mammalian species, including humans. We call for a focus on behavioral measures of social-emotional function. Methodological approaches to interpreting relations between the microbiota and behavior are discussed.

Perceptions of Stuttering of Different Age Groups

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (6) ◽  
pp. 1311-1315
Author(s):  
Sergey M. Kondrashov ◽  
John A. Tetnowski
Keyword(s):  
Age Groups ◽  
School Age Children ◽  
Clinical Implications ◽  
School Age ◽  
Fourth Edition ◽  
Self Perception ◽  
Behavioral Measures ◽  
Self Rating ◽  
Comparison Results ◽  
Subject Pool

Purpose The purpose of this study was to assess the perceptions of stuttering of school-age children who stutter and those of adults who stutter through the use of the same tools that could be commonly used by clinicians. Method Twenty-three participants across various ages and stuttering severity were administered both the Stuttering Severity Instrument–Fourth Edition (SSI-4; Riley, 2009 ) and the Wright & Ayre Stuttering Self-Rating Profile ( Wright & Ayre, 2000 ). Comparisons were made between severity of behavioral measures of stuttering made by the SSI-4 and by age (child/adult). Results Significant differences were obtained for the age comparison but not for the severity comparison. Results are explained in terms of the correlation between severity equivalents of the SSI-4 and the Wright & Ayre Stuttering Self-Rating Profile scores, with clinical implications justifying multi-aspect assessment. Conclusions Clinical implications indicate that self-perception and impact of stuttering must not be assumed and should be evaluated for individual participants. Research implications include further study with a larger subject pool and various levels of stuttering severity.

Effects of Attachment Styles on the Experience of Equity in Heterosexual Couples Relationships

2003 ◽  
Vol 50 (4) ◽  
pp. 298-310 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ina Grau ◽  
Jörg Doll
Keyword(s):  
Attachment Theory ◽  
Attachment Style ◽  
Intimate Relationships ◽  
Attachment Styles ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
The Other ◽  
Heterosexual Couples ◽  
Secure Attachment ◽  
Dependent Variables ◽  
Equity Ratio

Abstract. Employing one correlational and two experimental studies, this paper examines the influence of attachment styles (secure, anxious, avoidant) on a person’s experience of equity in intimate relationships. While one experimental study employed a priming technique to stimulate the different attachment styles, the other involved vignettes describing fictitious characters with typical attachment styles. As the specific hypotheses about the single equity components have been developed on the basis of the attachment theory, the equity ratio itself and the four equity components (own outcome, own input, partner’s outcome, partner’s input) are analyzed as dependent variables. While partners with a secure attachment style tend to describe their relationship as equitable (i.e., they give and take extensively), partners who feel anxious about their relationship generally see themselves as being in an inequitable, disadvantaged position (i.e., they receive little from their partner). The hypothesis that avoidant partners would feel advantaged as they were less committed was only supported by the correlational study. Against expectations, the results of both experiments indicate that avoidant partners generally see themselves (or see avoidant vignettes) as being treated equitably, but that there is less emotional exchange than is the case with secure partners. Avoidant partners give and take less than secure ones.

Emotions Under the Skin

2015 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 161-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catarina Silva ◽  
Ana Cláudia Ferreira ◽  
Isabel Soares ◽  
Francisco Esteves
Keyword(s):  
Attachment Style ◽  
Attachment Styles ◽  
The Other ◽  
Regulatory Function ◽  
Physiological Reactivity ◽  
Emotional Stimuli ◽  
Skin Conductance Responses ◽  
Lower Accuracy ◽  
Emotional Pictures ◽  
Valence And Arousal

Abstract. The present study examined physiological reactivity to emotional stimuli as a function of attachment style. Skin conductance responses (SCRs) and heart rate (HR) changes were simultaneously recorded while participants engaged in a visual attentional task. The task included positive, neutral, and negative emotional pictures, and required the identification of a target (neutral picture rotated 90° to the left or right), among a stream of pictures in which an emotional distracter (positive or negative) was presented. Participants additionally rated each of the emotional distracters for valence and arousal. Behavioral results on the attentional task showed that positive pictures facilitated overall target detection for all participants, compared to negative and neutral pictures, and that anxiously attached participants had significantly lower accuracy scores, relative to the other groups. Affective ratings indicated that positive pictures were rated as being more pleasant than negative ones, although no differences were found in HR changes to picture valence. In contrast, negative pictures were evaluated as being highly arousing. Consistent with this, negative pictures elicited larger SCRs in both insecure anxious and avoidant groups, especially for the anxious while the secure group showed SCRs unaffected by stimuli’s arousal. Present results show that individuals with different attachment styles reveal distinct patterns of attentional bias, appraisal, and physiological reactivity toward emotionally arousing stimuli. These findings further highlight the regulatory function of the attachment system.

Attachment and Field Dependence: Individual Differences in Information Processing

2004 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrizia Vermigli ◽  
Alessandro Toni
Keyword(s):  
Information Processing ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Field Dependence ◽  
Attachment Styles ◽  
Close Relationships ◽  
Adult Age ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Figure Test ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Measure Field

The present research analyzes the relationship between attachment styles at an adult age and field dependence in order to identify possible individual differences in information processing. The “Experience in Close Relationships” test of Brennan et al. was administered to a sample of 380 individuals (160 males, 220 females), while a subsample of 122 subjects was given the Embedded Figure Test to measure field dependence. Confirming the starting hypothesis, the results have shown that individuals with different attachment styles have a different way of perceiving the figure against the background. Ambivalent and avoidant individuals lie at the two extremes of the same dimension while secure individuals occupy the central part. Significant differences also emerged between males and females.

Attachment Styles, Physical Proximity, and Relational Satisfaction

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 106-112
Author(s):  
Anita Shrivastava ◽  
Andrea Burianova
Keyword(s):  
Attachment Styles ◽  
Romantic Relationship ◽  
Distinct Type ◽  
Relational Satisfaction ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Avoidant Attachment ◽  
Geographic Separation ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
Attachment Dimensions

This study aimed to explore the relationships between attachment styles, proximity, and relational satisfaction. This was achieved by assessing a distinct type of long distance romantic relationship of flying crews, compared with proximal (non-flying crew) romantic relationships. The responses of 139 expatriate professionals revealed significant associations between proximity and anxious and avoidant attachment dimensions. The role of the avoidant dimension in comparison with that of the anxious dimension was found to be a significant predictor of relational satisfaction. This study contributes significantly toward addressing the role of proximity and attachment in relational satisfaction in a new context of geographic separation.

Therapist–client agreement about their working alliance: Associations with attachment styles.

2019 ◽  
Vol 66 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-93 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seini O'Connor ◽  
Dennis M. Kivlighan ◽  
Clara E. Hill ◽  
Charles J. Gelso
Keyword(s):  
Working Alliance ◽  
Attachment Styles
Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document