Enhancing Task Persistence in 18- to 24-Month-Old Children through Social Robot Interaction

Abstract Social robots are increasingly integrated into children's daily lives, shaping their social interactions and learning behaviors. However, no study has empirically investigated the effect of robot-administered praise on children younger than 4 years old. To address this gap, the present study focuses on social robot CommU, a simple child-shaped robot that is approximately 30 cm tall, which may exert less social pressure and help children attend to social cues more easily. We examined whether praise from the CommU enhances task persistence in children aged 18 to 24 months, similar to human praise. The results showed that children persisted longer when they were praised by the agent, regardless of the agent type (CommU vs. human). Their persistence was also positively associated with the amount of time they spent looking at the agent. Notably, most of the children exhibited attention to the CommU while engaged in the task, suggesting their heightened social awareness. These findings provide the first empirical evidence that social robot interaction can enhance task persistence in children aged 18 to 24 months, highlighting the potential role of social robots in early childhood learning.