Stability of value perception : minimal influence of framing on moral attributions to a humanoid robot

2026
journal article
article
1
dc.abstract.enAs robots are becoming collaborators in various domains, understanding if humans perceive them as moral and intentional agents is pivotal. This study investigated the malleability of human attributions of value alignment and intentionality to a humanoid robot (iCub). We designed an experiment to test whether brief experimental framing strategies could influence these perceptions. Three experimental groups were exposed to different strategies regarding background information concerning the robot’s moral-decision making abilities: a no Information group; a verbal description group; and a social interaction (or video) group, where the robot reacted to moral decision-making movie scenes. Our results showed that our manipulations did not produce the expected differences in perceived robot–human value alignment or intentionality, suggesting that participants’ initial impressions of the robot are robust and not easily shifted by brief experimental framing. Furthermore, attributions of intentionality remained generally high regardless of the informational strategy employed. On the contrary, our exploratory findings indicate a small, significant correlation between participants’ own pre-existing moral orientations and their perceptions of the robot’s values. These findings suggest that moral impressions of complex artificial agents are less malleable than anticipated. They highlight that pre-existing moral frameworks shape how humans interpret artificial agents.
dc.affiliationWydział Filozoficzny : Instytut Psychologii
dc.contributor.authorMarchesi, Serena
dc.contributor.authorCiupińska, Kinga - 230007
dc.contributor.authorDe Tommaso, Davide
dc.contributor.authorWykowska, Agnieszka
dc.date.accessioned2026-05-13T07:17:11Z
dc.date.available2026-05-13T07:17:11Z
dc.date.createdat2026-03-18T09:45:42Zen
dc.date.issued2026
dc.date.openaccess0
dc.description.accesstimew momencie opublikowania
dc.description.versionostateczna wersja wydawcy
dc.description.volume16
dc.identifier.articleid1561
dc.identifier.doi10.1038/s41598-025-28831-8
dc.identifier.doierratum10.1038/s41598-026-43160-0
dc.identifier.issn2045-2322
dc.identifier.projectDRC AI
dc.identifier.urihttps://ruj.uj.edu.pl/handle/item/573851
dc.languageeng
dc.language.containereng
dc.rightsUdzielam licencji. Uznanie autorstwa - Użycie niekomercyjne - Bez utworów zależnych 4.0 Międzynarodowa
dc.rights.licenceCC-BY-NC-ND
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode.pl
dc.share.typeotwarte czasopismo
dc.source.integratorfalse
dc.subtypeArticle
dc.titleStability of value perception : minimal influence of framing on moral attributions to a humanoid robot
dc.title.journalScientific Reports
dc.typeJournalArticle
dspace.entity.typePublicationen
dc.abstract.en
As robots are becoming collaborators in various domains, understanding if humans perceive them as moral and intentional agents is pivotal. This study investigated the malleability of human attributions of value alignment and intentionality to a humanoid robot (iCub). We designed an experiment to test whether brief experimental framing strategies could influence these perceptions. Three experimental groups were exposed to different strategies regarding background information concerning the robot’s moral-decision making abilities: a no Information group; a verbal description group; and a social interaction (or video) group, where the robot reacted to moral decision-making movie scenes. Our results showed that our manipulations did not produce the expected differences in perceived robot–human value alignment or intentionality, suggesting that participants’ initial impressions of the robot are robust and not easily shifted by brief experimental framing. Furthermore, attributions of intentionality remained generally high regardless of the informational strategy employed. On the contrary, our exploratory findings indicate a small, significant correlation between participants’ own pre-existing moral orientations and their perceptions of the robot’s values. These findings suggest that moral impressions of complex artificial agents are less malleable than anticipated. They highlight that pre-existing moral frameworks shape how humans interpret artificial agents.
dc.affiliation
Wydział Filozoficzny : Instytut Psychologii
dc.contributor.author
Marchesi, Serena
dc.contributor.author
Ciupińska, Kinga - 230007
dc.contributor.author
De Tommaso, Davide
dc.contributor.author
Wykowska, Agnieszka
dc.date.accessioned
2026-05-13T07:17:11Z
dc.date.available
2026-05-13T07:17:11Z
dc.date.createdaten
2026-03-18T09:45:42Z
dc.date.issued
2026
dc.date.openaccess
0
dc.description.accesstime
w momencie opublikowania
dc.description.version
ostateczna wersja wydawcy
dc.description.volume
16
dc.identifier.articleid
1561
dc.identifier.doi
10.1038/s41598-025-28831-8
dc.identifier.doierratum
10.1038/s41598-026-43160-0
dc.identifier.issn
2045-2322
dc.identifier.project
DRC AI
dc.identifier.uri
https://ruj.uj.edu.pl/handle/item/573851
dc.language
eng
dc.language.container
eng
dc.rights
Udzielam licencji. Uznanie autorstwa - Użycie niekomercyjne - Bez utworów zależnych 4.0 Międzynarodowa
dc.rights.licence
CC-BY-NC-ND
dc.rights.uri
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode.pl
dc.share.type
otwarte czasopismo
dc.source.integrator
false
dc.subtype
Article
dc.title
Stability of value perception : minimal influence of framing on moral attributions to a humanoid robot
dc.title.journal
Scientific Reports
dc.type
JournalArticle
dspace.entity.typeen
Publication
Affiliations

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