Clarifying Social Robot Expectation Discrepancy: Developing a Framework for Understanding How Users Form Expectations of Social Robots

When engaging with a social robot, people form expectations about the robot that may not align with its real behaviour and abilities. This gap is known as expectation discrepancy, and can confuse and disappoint users. We are developing a framework that can be used to understand and compare instances of expectation discrepancy between robots by considering the sources of those expectations. In doing so, we aim to provide a structure and unified vocabulary that can be used to support description and comparison of robot designs and the expectations users form of them. We have begun by examining theoretical work on expectations in interactions between people, and are working to synthesize this into an initial foundation. We will then refine this into a final social robot expectation framework by conducting a survey of expectation formation and discrepancy in existing social robots and projects.