ABSTRACT
As the population ages, there is an increasing need for socio-emotional support for older adults. A potential way to meet this need is through interacting with pet-type robots such as the seal robot, PARO. There was a need to extend research on PARO's potential benefits beyond cognitively impaired and dependently living older adults. Because independently living, cognitively intact older adults may also have socio-emotional needs, the primary goal of this study was to investigate their attitudes, emotions, and engagement with PARO to identify its potential applicability to this demographic. Thirty older adults participated in an interaction period with PARO, and their attitudes and emotions toward PARO were assessed before and after using a multi-method approach. Video of the interaction was coded to determine the types and frequency of engagements participants initiated with PARO. Overall, there were no pre-post interaction differences on these measures. However, semi-structured interviews suggested that these older adults had positive attitudes towards PARO's attributes, thought it would be easy to use, and perceived potential uses for both themselves and others. Participants varied in their frequency of engagement with PARO. A novel finding is that this active engagement frequency uniquely predicted post-interaction period positive affect. This study advances understanding of healthy older adults' attitudes, emotions, and engagement with PARO and of possible ways in which PARO could provide social and emotional support to healthy older adults. The results are informative for future research and design of pet-type robots.
ABSTRACT
There is a growing proportion of older adults in the population. Normal aging brings about difficulty in maintaining autonomy as well as an increased need for social support. Animal-assisted therapy and pet-type robots may be a solution to this problem. However, older adults' living situations cannot always accommodate live animals and there are design limitations associated with many of the current pet-type robots. Paro's design addresses some of these issues, but perceptions of Paro's usefulness remain largely unexplored in the normally aging older adult population. The focus of this paper was to address perceived usefulness of the robot Paro as well as potential influencing factors of perceived usefulness. In this study, 30 healthy older adults (ages 67-80) completed questionnaires and answered interview questions regarding perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use of Paro before and after they interacted with it. The data revealed that the participants were neutral regarding perceived usefulness of Paro in their daily lives. However, most participants indicated specific uses for themselves and others, which raised concerns regarding the applicability of the Perceived Usefulness measure in this context. Furthermore, most participants said that they would want to own Paro, and perceived it as being beneficial to other people. Data analysis is ongoing, but initial findings and potential response trends have been identified and discussed. Our results provide insights into healthy older adults' thoughts toward and acceptance of this robot, as well as potential influencing factors of its acceptance.
