Human-Robot Social Interactions: the Role of Social Norms

Human interactions are fundamentally based on normative principles. Particularly in social contexts, human behaviours are affected by social norms. Individuals expect certain behaviours from other people, who are perceived to have an obligation to act according to the expected behaviour. Giving robots the ability to interact with humans, on human terms, is an open challenge. People are more willing to accept robotic systems in daily life when the robots engage in socially desirable behaviours with benevolent interaction styles. Furthermore, allowing robots to reason in social situations, which involve a set of social norms generating expectations, may improve the dynamics of human-robot interactions and the self-evaluation processes of robot's behaviours.