This study explores the perceptions of gender and anthropomorphism in robots as imagined and drawn by children. It was conducted in a lower secondary school in Siena with children aged 11-13. Participants were asked to draw a robot fit for one of two job roles: house decoration (stereotypically more feminine) or snow shovelling (stereotypically more masculine). Pupils were also asked to fill out a printed ques- tionnaire with the aim to collect some general personal information and descriptions of the robot that each of them had drawn. The findings show a tendency to ascribe male or gender-neutral traits to the robots. Notably, younger children more frequently drew colourful, anthropomorphic robots for the house decoration task, whereas older students predominantly designed black and white, machine-like robots suited for the snow shovelling task.

Palmitesta, P., Bracci, M., Currò, F., Guidi, S., Marchigiani, E., Parlangeli, O. (2024). Design a robot that is able to…: gender stereotypes in children’s imagination of robots. In Human factors in robots, drones and unmanned systems (pp.75-82). New York : AHFE International [10.54941/ahfe1005010].

Design a robot that is able to…: gender stereotypes in children’s imagination of robots

Palmitesta, Paola
;
Bracci, Margherita
;
Currò, Francesco
;
Guidi, Stefano
;
Marchigiani, Enrica
;
Parlangeli, Oronzo
2024-01-01

Abstract

This study explores the perceptions of gender and anthropomorphism in robots as imagined and drawn by children. It was conducted in a lower secondary school in Siena with children aged 11-13. Participants were asked to draw a robot fit for one of two job roles: house decoration (stereotypically more feminine) or snow shovelling (stereotypically more masculine). Pupils were also asked to fill out a printed ques- tionnaire with the aim to collect some general personal information and descriptions of the robot that each of them had drawn. The findings show a tendency to ascribe male or gender-neutral traits to the robots. Notably, younger children more frequently drew colourful, anthropomorphic robots for the house decoration task, whereas older students predominantly designed black and white, machine-like robots suited for the snow shovelling task.
2024
978-1-964867-14-4
Palmitesta, P., Bracci, M., Currò, F., Guidi, S., Marchigiani, E., Parlangeli, O. (2024). Design a robot that is able to…: gender stereotypes in children’s imagination of robots. In Human factors in robots, drones and unmanned systems (pp.75-82). New York : AHFE International [10.54941/ahfe1005010].
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11365/1264174