Ambivalent stereotypes towards gendered robots: the (im)mutability of bias towards female and neutral robots

Many studies have investigated the effect of robot genderedness on the attribution of gender stereotypes to a robot, often with mixed results. This paper aims to overcome some of the limitations of previous research. We adopted a mixed study design with stereotypical trait type (communion vs. agency) or task type (stereotypical female vs. stereotypical male) and robot genderedness (female vs. male vs. neutral) as within-subjects factors, and participant gender (men vs. women) as between-subjects factor. We asked participants to rate 24 robots (8 per category) in terms of their perceived communion, agency, and suitability for stereotypical female and male tasks. The results disclosed that female robots activate paternalistic stereotypes (higher communion than agency, higher suitability for female tasks than male tasks), while male robots do not. Moreover, they reveal that the ambivalence of these stereotypes is stronger in men than in women. Even more interestingly, our analyses showed that neutral robots activate paternalistic stereotypes in men and envious stereotypes (higher agency than communion) in women. This last finding is particularly relevant as it suggests that gender neutrality is not enough to safeguard robots from harmful biases.