Materiality and the construction of Intersubjectivity : human-robot interaction in typical development and the use of the Objects in ASD children

Abstract

The aims of the present dissertation are to analyse, in children with typical and atypical development, the construction of the intersubjectivity through the use of objects in atypical development (ASD) and through the interaction with a humanoid robot in typical development. About the humanoid robots, the issue is to observe the possible attribution of human-like features to a robot that can make the human-robot interaction similar to the human-human interaction that is a classic intersubjective interaction because of the presence of two human subjects. This purpose is investigated considering two theoretical frameworks: 1) Theory of Mind that explain the construction of the intersubjectivity through the attribution of mental states to others; 2) Socio-material perspective which postulates that the construction of the intersubjectivity is mediated by objects in many cases. Thus, the question arises in this dissertation about the humanoid robot is: what happen when the mediator object (the robot) is also the interactive partner. To achieve this purposes, the present thesis studies two main topics: 1) the interactional patterns with and the attribution of a mind to a robot by typically developing children; 2) the interactional patterns in atypical development - autistic children - in a child-adult interaction mediated by objects. The first topic is analysed in an innovative theoretical perspective and a through novel methodological approach, leading to an innovative understanding of the child-robot interaction. The theoretical perspective connects the role of Theory of Mind in HRI; the methodological approach observes children’s decision-making strategies in the HRI, comparing these behavioural patterns when children interact with a human and with a robot. The second issue of the thesis is about the role of the object as mediator of the relationship between autistic children and adults. This is studied through the Socio- material perspective that hypothesised that material features of the objects and their intrinsic social qualities are strictly connected.