Sharing a work team with robots: The negative effect of robot co-workers on in-group identification with the work team

Abstract

This study investigated whether the introduction of robots as teammates has an impact on in-group identification. We used two samples from the United States (N = 1003, N = 969). Participants were asked to imagine a hypothetical situation in which they were assigned to a work team at a new job. The number of robot teammates was manipulated, and the control group included only humans. Two studies examined perceived in-group identification with variance analysis and individual differences with regression analysis. Having a robot on the work team had a negative impact on in-group identification. The results suggest that when humans are members of minority subgroup within a work team, their subgroup identity is threatened. Identification with a work team including robot members is associated with individual factors such as attitude towards robots, technological expertise, and personality. Our findings indicate that introducing a robot as a teammate may affect in-group identification process negatively with some individual differences.