A possibility of inappropriate use of gender studies in human-robot Interaction

Tatsuya Nomura

doi:10.1007/s00146-019-00913-y

Abstract

A possibility of inappropriate use of gender studies in human-robot Interaction

Highlights

In response to this situation, some Japanese psychologists published a statement denouncing the university’s action as justifying sexism by unsophisticatedly quoting the research
1 Ryukoku University, Otsu, Shiga 520‐2194, Japan fields: (1) gender differences tend to be used to justify the maintenance of the present status in communities; (2) it is hard to interpret gender differences in a strictly statistical sense; and (3) there have been no guidelines or standards on how researchers should state their results when they find gender effects in their studies
human–robot interaction (HRI) involves the characteristic of the embodiment of robots, which leads to easier assignment of gender-specific properties with robots

Summary

Introduction

In response to this situation, some Japanese psychologists published a statement denouncing the university’s action as justifying sexism by unsophisticatedly quoting the research. 1 Ryukoku University, Otsu, Shiga 520‐2194, Japan fields: (1) gender differences tend to be used to justify the maintenance of the present status in communities; (2) it is hard to interpret gender differences in a strictly statistical sense (both significant probability and effect size); and (3) there have been no guidelines or standards on how researchers should state their results when they find gender effects in their studies (note: these statements are based on a report by the author of the paper, Nomura, who participated to the seminar).

Results

Conclusion