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Understanding the Development of Multidimensional Trust in Social Robots

Conference Paper (2026)
Author(s)

Chih Wei Ning (TU Delft - Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science)

Carolina Centeio Jorge (TU Delft - Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science)

Myrthe L. Tielman (TU Delft - Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science)

Mark A. Neerincx (TU Delft - Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science)

Research Group
Pattern Recognition and Bioinformatics
DOI related publication
https://doi.org/10.1145/3757279.3785556 Final published version
More Info
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Publication Year
2026
Language
English
Research Group
Pattern Recognition and Bioinformatics
Pages (from-to)
924-933
Publisher
ACM
ISBN (electronic)
9798400721281
Event
21st ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction, HRI 2026 (2026-03-16 - 2026-03-19), Edinburgh, United Kingdom
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Abstract

As robots and virtual agents are increasingly envisioned as long-term companions, understanding how trust develops becomes crucial for ensuring safe and appropriate human-robot relationships. This research investigates how affective and cognitive trust evolve in social human-robot interactions. Participants (n=40) engaged in a 2 (social attitude: social, baseline) × 3 (time: t1, t2, t3) mixed-design user study with a social robot, using a novel Card Divination Task developed to elicit both cognitive and affective trust dimensions. Results show that cognitive trust develops early while affective trust emerges gradually. Moreover, social cues enhance both cognitive trust, affective trust, and participants' certainty in trust judgment. These findings provide empirical support for the theoretical distinction between trust dimensions and highlight the role of social behavior in shaping trust over repeated interactions.