CONSUMER AS MORAL AGENT IN HUMAN-ROBOT INTERACTIONS THE ROLE OF ANTHROPOMORPHISM

The literature in the social and marketing field has extensively studied the characteristics of the interaction between a consumer and a robot. In particular, it was evaluated how the robot is perceived when it possesses typical characteristics of the human being (anthropomorphism). In this case, the consumer perceives the anthropomorphic robot as a moral agent, that is, an agent with a will guided by moral laws. However, since morality is typical of the interaction between human beings, no research has studied how a consumer regulates his behavior while interacting with an anthropomorphic robot. The aim of this research is to evaluate whether the anthropomorphism perceived in a robot leads the consumer to interact with it guided by his own morality, as in the contexts of interaction with other human beings. To achieve this, a quantitative study was conducted. Two video stimuli were created and pre-tested that simulate the interaction between 1) human and anthropomorphic robot and 2) human and non-anthropomorphic robot. The stimuli were shown to two groups of participants and moral agency was measured. The data obtained were analyzed using an ANOVA and a regression model. The results showed that with increasing levels of perceived anthropomorphism, consumers tend to adopt moral behaviors. The theoretical and managerial implications are finally discussed.