What Would You Rather Tell a Robot Than a Human?

When we talk to people, we choose how much personal information to disclose about ourselves. How much we reveal, both in terms of breadth and depth, depends on many factors. In a therapeutic context, it is considered desirable to self-disclose, yet people sometimes hold back negative personal experiences, due to fear of being judged or revealing their weaknesses. Researchers Takahisa Uchida and colleagues from Osaka University hypothesized that people may find it easier to disclose their negative feelings to a robot due to its lower social position. The findings of their preliminary research were presented at the 2017 Robot and Human Interactive Communication symposium in Lisbon in August.