Co-Designing with a Social Robot Facilitator: Effects of Robot Mood Expression on Human Group Dynamics

Social robots can be designed to support the facilitation of co-design sessions. Facilitators regulate group dynamics to promote effective collaboration among stakeholders. Group dynamics are sensitive to mood expressions: Positive mood expressions by the facilitator promote cooperation in the group, whereas negative expressions promote conflict. However, whether mood expressions by a social robot facilitator also influence human group dynamics is an open scientific and practical question. To learn more, an experiment (N = 98) was conducted where small groups engaged in a co-design session led by a social robot facilitator. The robot displayed positive, neutral, or negative mood expressions throughout the session. The results showed that positive robot expressions, compared to neutral or negative expressions, increased perceived robot valence. Perceived robot valence increased cooperation and decreased conflict in the human groups. These findings contribute novel insight into how social robots can be used to innovate how co-design is facilitated.