Affective and Engagement Issues in the Conception and Assessment of a Robot-Assisted Psychomotor Therapy for Persons with Dementia

Bibliographic Data

ID8077345
AuthorsNatacha Rouaix, Laure Retru-Chavastel, Anne‐Sophie Rigaud (0000-0002-6827-4417), Anne-Sophie Rigaud, Clotilde Monnet, Hermine Lenoir, Maribel Pino (0000-0002-1598-9144, corresponding author)
Year2017
Volume8
Pages950-950
Publication date2017-06-30
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueFrontiers in Psychology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1664-1078 • E-ISSN: 1664-1078
PublisherFrontiers Media (PUBLISHER • CH)
DOI10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00950
PMID28713296
OpenAlexW2724805274
LanguageEN
Citations received8
References cited30

The interest in robot-assisted therapies (RAT) for dementia care has grown steadily in recent years. However, RAT using humanoid robots is still a novel practice for which the adhesion mechanisms, indications and benefits remain unclear. Also, little is known about how the robot's behavioral and affective style might promote engagement of persons with dementia (PwD) in RAT. The present study sought to investigate the use of a humanoid robot in a psychomotor therapy for PwD. We examined the robot's potential to engage participants in the intervention and its effect on their emotional state. A brief psychomotor therapy program involving the robot as the therapist's assistant was created. For this purpose, a corpus of social and physical behaviors for the robot and a "control software" for customizing the program and operating the robot were also designed. Particular attention was given to components of the RAT that could promote participant's engagement (robot's interaction style, personalization of contents). In the pilot assessment of the intervention nine PwD (7 women and 2 men, M age = 86 y/o) hospitalized in a geriatrics unit participated in four individual therapy sessions: one classic therapy (CT) session (patient- therapist) and three RAT sessions (patient-therapist-robot). Outcome criteria for the evaluation of the intervention included: participant's engagement, emotional state and well-being; satisfaction of the intervention, appreciation of the robot, and empathy-related behaviors in human-robot interaction (HRI). Results showed a high constructive engagement in both CT and RAT sessions. More positive emotional responses in participants were observed in RAT compared to CT. RAT sessions were better appreciated than CT sessions. The use of a social robot as a mediating tool appeared to promote the involvement of PwD in the therapeutic intervention increasing their immediate wellbeing and satisfaction

Cognition · Dementia · Empathy · Intervention (counseling · Psychiatry · Psychomotor learning · Psychotherapist · Robot · Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Research · Computer Science · Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research · Medicine · Psychology · Social Robot Interaction and HRI · Applied Psychology · Artificial Intelligence · Clinical Psychology · Occupational Therapy · Social Psychology

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