The Influence of Gendered Physical Attributes and Personality Traits on Robot Perception
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 17812201 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Simone Grassini (0000-0002-4189-7585, University of Bergen, corresponding author), Stefano Guidi (0000-0001-8304-8680, University of Siena), Oronzo Parlangeli (0000-0002-2040-3507, University of Siena) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 18 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Publication date | 2026-02-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | International Journal of Social Robotics (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1875-4791 • E-ISSN: 1875-4805 |
| Publisher | Springer Science+Business Media (PUBLISHER • DE) |
| DOI | 10.1007/s12369-026-01374-2 |
| OpenAlex | W7128782903 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 44 |
Social robots inevitably present multiple social cues simultaneously, yet previous research has generally examined these cues in isolation. The present study provides the first test of how a robot’s gendered morphology and a gender-stereotyped perceived personality together shape task-suitability judgments, acceptability, likeability, and anthropomorphism. Our findings reveal that robots with masculine physical features are perceived as more suitable for tasks traditionally associated with masculinity than those with feminine morphological characteristics. However, no effect of robot physical characteristics was observed for feminine tasks. Critically, the study reveals an important phenomenon: people judge a robot as more anthropomorphic when its perceived gendered appearance matches the gender-stereotyped personality traits assigned to it. The results can inform designers who wish to boost anthropomorphism by matching appearance and behaviour, or, conversely, to challenge stereotypes or reduce the level of perceived anthropomorphism by deliberately mismatching them
Big Five personality traits · Masculinity · Matching (statistics) · Perception · Personality · Robot · Social perception · Social robot · Action Observation and Synchronization · Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior · Social Robot Interaction and HRI
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Essentialist beliefs about social categories
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Development and validation of the AI attitude scale (Aias-4)
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Robots and Gender
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Preschoolers’ anthropomorphizing of robots
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Ratings of self and peers on sex role attributes and their relation to self-esteem and conceptions of masculinity and femininity
Do Robots Need to Be Stereotyped? Technical Characteristics as a Moderator of Gender Stereotyping
Measurement Instruments for the Anthropomorphism, Animacy, Likeability, Perceived Intelligence, and Perceived Safety of Robots
Masculinities and Technologies
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |