Beyond Words: The Role of Robot Teachers' Nonverbal Social Behavior in Shaping Learning Outcomes - Supplementary Data
Description
Experimental data: The integration of social robots in educational contexts requires a nuanced understanding of how their nonverbal behaviors affect student learning. This study examines the effects of a teaching robot's multimodal nonverbal social behavior, operationalized by the construct of nonverbal immediacy (NVI), on learners' cognitive, motivational, and affective outcomes. Drawing on the Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning (CTML) and Social Agency Theory (SAT), we hypothesized that NVI would have both direct negative effects on knowledge acquisition-due to cognitive distraction-and indirect positive effects via increased anthropomorphism and social presence, which may enhance motivation and enjoyment, thus fostering cognitive learning. A between-subjects, longitudinal design was employed with 64 participants participating in two instructional sessions delivered by a humanoid robot programmed to exhibit either high or low levels of NVI. Results showed that higher perceived NVI was associated with increased anthropomorphism, which in turn positively influenced students' state motivation, enjoyment, and knowledge gain. Despite these indirect positive effects, perceived NVI also had a direct negative effect on knowledge gain, highlighting a dual-pathway mechanism. The results demonstrate that while nonverbal behaviors can enhance socio-emotional engagement and increase knowledge gain, they can also impose cognitive costs that impede learning. These findings highlight the importance of balancing the design of nonverbal behaviors in educational robots to optimize both cognitive and socio-emotional benefits, and provide insight into the complexities of human-robot interaction in educational settings.
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Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
project number 390523135