Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to interrogate the relationship between self-reported levels of acute stress, perceived social support and interactions with robot animals in an academic library. The authors hypothesized that (1) participants would report lower stress and higher positive affect after their interaction with a robot support animal and (2) perceived supportiveness of the robot support animal would positively predict the amount of stress reduction the participants reported.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors hosted a robot petting zoo in the main library at a mid-sized Midwestern university during finals week. Participants were asked to rate their stress level prior to interacting with the robot pets (T1) and then after their interaction they were asked about their current stress level and the perceived supportiveness of the robot animal (T2). Data were analyzed using paired samples t-tests for the pretest and post-test scores.

Findings

The results showed a significant decrease in acute stress between T1 to T2, as well as a significant increase in happiness and relaxation. Participants reported feeling less bored and less tired after their interactions with the robot support animals. The findings also reveal that the degree to which individuals experienced a reduction in stress was influenced by their perceptions of the robot animal's supportiveness. Libraries could consider using robot pet therapy.

Originality/value

This study reveals the benefit of robot support animals to reduce stress and increase happiness of those experiencing acute stress in a library setting. The authors also introduce the concept of socially supportive contact as a type of unidirectional social support.

中文翻译：

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在学术图书馆使用机器人动物伴侣来减轻学生压力

目的

本文的目的是探究学术图书馆中自我报告的急性压力水平、感知的社会支持以及与机器动物的互动之间的关系。作者假设（1）参与者在与机器人支持动物互动后会报告较低的压力和较高的积极影响，（2）机器人支持动物的感知支持将积极预测参与者报告的压力减少量。

设计/方法/方法

决赛周期间，作者在中西部一所大学的主图书馆举办了一个机器人宠物动物园。参与者被要求在与机器人宠物（T1）互动之前评估他们的压力水平，然后在他们互动之后，他们被问及他们当前的压力水平和机器人动物的感知支持（T2）。使用配对样本t检验分析数据，以获得前测和后测分数。

发现

结果显示，T1 到 T2 之间的急性压力显着降低，幸福感和放松感显着增加。参与者报告说，在与机器人支持动物互动后，他们感觉不那么无聊和不那么累了。研究结果还表明，个人经历压力减轻的程度受到他们对机器人动物支持的看法的影响。图书馆可以考虑使用机器人宠物疗法。

原创性/价值

这项研究揭示了机器人支持动物的好处，以减轻在图书馆环境中经历严重压力的人的压力和增加幸福感。作者还引入了社会支持接触的概念，作为一种单向的社会支持。