Triggering social interactions: chimpanzees respond to imitation by a humanoid robot and request responses from it.

Marina Davila-Ross,Jennifer Schaeffer,Johanna Hutchinson,William D Hopkins,Jamie L Russell,Aude Billard,Kim A Bard

doi:10.1007/s10071-013-0689-9

Abstract

Even the most rudimentary social cues may evoke affiliative responses in humans and promote social communication and cohesion. The present work tested whether such cues of an agent may also promote communicative interactions in a nonhuman primate species, by examining interaction-promoting behaviours in chimpanzees. Here, chimpanzees were tested during interactions with an interactive humanoid robot, which showed simple bodily movements and sent out calls. The results revealed that chimpanzees exhibited two types of interaction-promoting behaviours during relaxed or playful contexts. First, the chimpanzees showed prolonged active interest when they were imitated by the robot. Second, the subjects requested 'social' responses from the robot, i.e. by showing play invitations and offering toys or other objects. This study thus provides evidence that even rudimentary cues of a robotic agent may promote social interactions in chimpanzees, like in humans. Such simple and frequent social interactions most likely provided a foundation for sophisticated forms of affiliative communication to emerge.

Highlights

In humans, the most rudimentary cues of others evoke affiliative behaviours, such as helping gestures or smiles, which may promote communicative exchanges and help initiate or maintain social cohesion in a variety of contexts (Dunbar et al 2011; Ishii et al 2011; Vogel 2010; Nadel et al 2004)
There was no indication that the subjects were affected already earlier by imitation as no difference was found across the two movement conditions during the human–robot interactions (Mann–Whitney U test with Hommel– Hochberg corrections; U = 23.0, N = 8+6 subjects, p = 0.880; Fig. 2)
The current study provides strong evidence that chimpanzees, like humans, respond with interaction-promoting behaviours to even the most rudimentary cues of an agent

Summary

Introduction

The most rudimentary cues of others evoke affiliative behaviours, such as helping gestures or smiles, which may promote communicative exchanges and help initiate or maintain social cohesion in a variety of contexts (Dunbar et al 2011; Ishii et al 2011; Vogel 2010; Nadel et al 2004). Humans even direct such behaviours towards interactive robots (Billard et al 2006; Hiolle et al 2012; Murray et al 2009), agents with obvious limitations in appearance and actions compared to real individuals. In contrast, seem to be evoked more readily, perhaps due to their strong links to survival (e.g. fight-or-flight reactions: Mobbs et al 2007; see Fredrickson 2001), but they are clearly not used to uphold social encounters

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