Novelty Experience in Prolonged Interaction: A Qualitative Study of Socially-Isolated College Students' In-Home Use of a Robot Companion Animal

Social distancing policies such as limits on public gatherings and contact with others were utilized around the world to slow the spread of COVID-19. Yet, decreased social interactions may also threaten people's well-being. In this project, we sought to understand novelty-relevant experiences surrounding in-home companion robot pets for adults that were living in some degree of social isolation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After 6-weeks of participants living with the robot companion, we conducted semi-structured interviews (N = 9) and six themes emerged from our iterative analysis (expectations versus reality, ontological comparisons, interactions, third-party influence, identity, and comfort). Findings suggest that novelty is a complex phenomenon consisting of various elements (i.e., imagined novelty, technology novelty, and relational novelty). Each component influences the user's experience. Our findings also suggest that our understanding of novelty as a nonlinear resource may hold important implications for how we view human-robot relationships beyond initial encounters.

Automated summary

Social distancing policies implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic have slowed down the spread of the virus but also posed threats to people's well-being. This study aimed to explore the experiences of adults living in social isolation with in-home companion robot pets. After 6 weeks of living with the robot companion, semi-structured interviews were conducted, revealing six themes related to novelty experiences. The findings suggest that novelty is a complex phenomenon consisting of various elements and that our understanding of novelty as a nonlinear resource has important implications for human-robot relationships.