The Difference Between Trust Measurement and Behavior: Investigating the Effect of Personalizing a Robot's Appearance on Trust in HRI

With the increased use of social robots in critical applications, like elder care and rehabilitation, it becomes necessary to investigate the user's trust in robots to prevent over- and under-utilization of the robotic systems. While several studies have shown how trust increases through personalised behaviour, there is a lack of research concerned with the influence of personalised physical appearance.
This study explores the effect of personalised physical appearance on trust in human-robot-interaction (HRI). In an online game, 60 participants interacted with a robot, where half of the participants were asked to personalise the robot prior to the game. Trust was measured through a trust-related questionnaire as well as by evaluating user behaviour during the game. Results indicate that personalised physical appearance does not directly correlate to higher trust perceptions, however, there was significant evidence that players exhibit more trusting behaviours in a game against a personalised robot.