This study investigates the degree to which children anthropomorphize a robot tutor and whether this anthropomorphism relates to their vocabulary learning in a second‐language (L2) tutoring intervention. With this aim, an anthropomorphism questionnaire was administered to 5‐year‐old children (N = 104) twice: prior to and following a seven‐session L2 vocabulary training with a humanoid robot. On average, children tended to anthropomorphize the robot prior to and after the lessons to a similar degree, but many children changed their attributed anthropomorphic features. Boys anthropomorphized the robot less after the lessons than girls. Moreover, there was a weak but significant positive correlation between anthropomorphism as measured before the lessons and scores on a word‐knowledge post‐test administered the day after the last lesson. There was also a weak but significant positive correlation between the change in anthropomorphism over time and scores on a word‐knowledge post‐test administered approximately 2 weeks after the last lesson. Our results underscore the need to manage children's expectations in robot‐assisted education. Also, future research could explore adaptations to individual children's expectations in child‐robot interactions.

中文翻译：

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玩具还是朋友？儿童关于机器人的拟人化信念及其与第二语言单词学习的关系

这项研究调查了儿童在第二语言（L2）辅导干预中对机器人辅导员的拟人化程度以及这种拟人化是否与他们的词汇学习有关。为此目的，对5岁儿童进行了拟人化问卷调查（N= 104）两次：在使用人形机器人进行的七节L2词汇训练之前和之后。平均而言，孩子们倾向于在上课之前和之后对机器人进行拟人化，但是他们中许多人改变了他们的拟人化特征。课后，男孩对机器人的拟人化程度不及女孩。此外，在上课之前测得的拟人化程度与上一堂课后第二天进行的单词知识后测成绩之间存在微弱但显着的正相关关系。随着时间的推移，拟人化的变化与上一堂课后大约两周进行的单词知识测验得分之间也存在微弱但显着的正相关。我们的结果强调了在机器人辅助教育中需要管理儿童的期望。