Attitudes toward service robots: Analyses of explicit and implicit attitudes based on anthropomorphism and construal level theory

Abstract

Purpose: Building on both the uncanny valley and construal level theories, the analyses detailed in this article address customers’ explicit and implicit attitudes toward various service robots, categorized by the degree of their human-like appearance: mechanoids (low human-likeness), humanoids (medium human-likeness), and realistic robots (high human-likeness). Methodology: The analyses reflect a mixed-method approach, across three studies. A qualitative study employs focus groups to identify consensual attitudes. An experiment measures self-reported, explicit attitudes toward the three categories of robots. Another experiment explores customers’ implicit attitudes (unconscious and unintentional) toward robots, using three Implicit Association Tests. Findings: Customers express both positive and negative attitudes toward service robots. The realistic robots lead to both explicit and implicit negative attitudes, suggesting that customers tend to reject these robots in frontline service settings. Robots with lower human-likeness levels generate relatively more positive attitudes and are accepted to nearly the same extent as human employees in hospitality and tourism contexts. Originality: The combined qualitative and quantitative studies specify and clarify customers’ implicit and explicit attitudes toward robots with different levels of human-likeness, in the real-world setting of hospitality and tourism services. Such insights can inform continued research into the effects of these service innovations.