Background: Robotic devices have shown promise in supporting motor (re)learning. However, there is a limited understanding of how personality traits influence the effectiveness of robot-aided training strategies. Methods: We conducted a motor learning experiment with 40 unimpaired participants who trained to control a virtual pendulum using a robotic haptic device. Before the experiment, we assessed personality traits including the perceived control over life events (Locus of Control), the tendency to turn challenges into engaging activities (Transform of Challenge), and other subscales from Autotelic and Hexad gaming style questionnaires. Participants were divided into two groups, one receiving haptic guidance during training and a second one without assistance. Short- and long-term retention was assessed, and relationships between personality traits, performance metrics, and human-robot interaction metrics were analyzed. Results: Participants with high Transform of Challenge or external Locus of Control characteristics who received physical guidance during training reduced the human-robot interaction forces to a lesser extent compared to the ones who did not receive guidance. Additionally, participants with a high Free Spirit gaming style showed greater sensitivity to how their perception of the guidance affected their performance during the retention phases. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that autotelic personality, Locus of Control, and gaming style modulate motor learning outcomes during robotic-assisted training, affecting both performance and human-robot interaction metrics. This highlights the potential of integrating personality-based adaptations in robot-aided rehabilitation protocols to enhance performance and motor (re)learning. Future works should explore the relationship between personality traits and psychological states (e.g., perceived difficulty, attention) across diverse tasks and guidance methods in clinical populations.

The provision of robotic assistance during motor training has proven to be effective in enhancing motor learning in some healthy trainee groups as well as patients. Personalizing such robotic assistance can help further improve motor (re)learning outcomes and cater better to the trainee's needs and desires. However, the development of personalized haptic assistance is hindered by the lack of understanding of the link between the trainee's personality and the effects of haptic guidance during human-robot interaction. To address this gap, we ran an experiment with 40 healthy participants who trained with a robotic device to control a virtual pendulum to hit incoming targets, either with or without haptic guidance. We found that certain personal traits affected how users adapt and interact with the guidance during training. In particular, those participants with an 'Achiever gaming style' performed better and applied lower interaction forces to the robotic device than the average participant as the training progressed. Conversely, participants with the 'Free spirit game style' increased the interaction force in the course of training. We also found an interaction between some personal characteristics and haptic guidance. Specifically, participants with a higher 'Transformation of challenge' trait exhibited poorer performance during training while receiving haptic guidance compared to an average participant receiving haptic guidance. Furthermore, individuals with an external Locus of Control tended to increase their interaction force with the device, deviating from the pattern observed in an average participant under the same guidance. These findings suggest that individual characteristics may play a crucial role in the effectiveness of haptic guidance training strategies.