Exploring the utility of robots as distractors during a delay-of-gratification task in preschool children
The development of executive function (EF) in children, particularly with respect to self-regulation skills, has been linked to long-term benefits in terms of social and health outcomes. One such skill is the ability to deal with frustrations when waiting for a delayed, preferred reward. Although ro...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-04-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Robotics and AI |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frobt.2023.1001119/full |
| _version_ | 1797852163565682688 |
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| author | Jaishankar Bharatharaj Irene M. Pepperberg Senthil Kumar Sasthan Kutty Achudhan Munisamy Chris Krägeloh |
| author_facet | Jaishankar Bharatharaj Irene M. Pepperberg Senthil Kumar Sasthan Kutty Achudhan Munisamy Chris Krägeloh |
| author_sort | Jaishankar Bharatharaj |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The development of executive function (EF) in children, particularly with respect to self-regulation skills, has been linked to long-term benefits in terms of social and health outcomes. One such skill is the ability to deal with frustrations when waiting for a delayed, preferred reward. Although robots have increasingly been utilized in educational situations that involve teaching psychosocial skills to children, including various aspects related to self-control, the utility of robots in increasing the likelihood of self-imposed delay of gratification remains to be explored. Using a single-case experimental design, the present study exposed 24 preschoolers to three experimental conditions where a choice was provided between an immediately available reward and a delayed but larger reward. The likelihood of waiting increased over sessions when children were simply asked to wait, but waiting times did not increase further during a condition where teachers offered activities as a distraction. However, when children were exposed to robots and given the opportunity to interact with them, waiting times for the majority of children increased with medium to large effect sizes. Given the positive implications of strong executive function, how it might be increased in children in which it is lacking, limited, or in the process of developing, is of considerable import. This study highlights the effectiveness of robots as a distractor during waiting times and outlines a potential new application of robots in educational contexts. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T19:28:44Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4aacc346ce4e4b77be89446606b9e8fd |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-9144 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T19:28:44Z |
| publishDate | 2023-04-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Robotics and AI |
| spelling | doaj.art-4aacc346ce4e4b77be89446606b9e8fd2023-04-05T05:03:41ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Robotics and AI2296-91442023-04-011010.3389/frobt.2023.10011191001119Exploring the utility of robots as distractors during a delay-of-gratification task in preschool childrenJaishankar Bharatharaj0Irene M. Pepperberg1Senthil Kumar Sasthan Kutty2Achudhan Munisamy3Chris Krägeloh4PAIR Lab, Bharath Institute of Higher Education and Research, Chennai, IndiaDepartment of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA, United StatesPAIR Lab, Bharath Institute of Higher Education and Research, Chennai, IndiaPAIR Lab, Bharath Institute of Higher Education and Research, Chennai, IndiaPAIR Lab, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New ZealandThe development of executive function (EF) in children, particularly with respect to self-regulation skills, has been linked to long-term benefits in terms of social and health outcomes. One such skill is the ability to deal with frustrations when waiting for a delayed, preferred reward. Although robots have increasingly been utilized in educational situations that involve teaching psychosocial skills to children, including various aspects related to self-control, the utility of robots in increasing the likelihood of self-imposed delay of gratification remains to be explored. Using a single-case experimental design, the present study exposed 24 preschoolers to three experimental conditions where a choice was provided between an immediately available reward and a delayed but larger reward. The likelihood of waiting increased over sessions when children were simply asked to wait, but waiting times did not increase further during a condition where teachers offered activities as a distraction. However, when children were exposed to robots and given the opportunity to interact with them, waiting times for the majority of children increased with medium to large effect sizes. Given the positive implications of strong executive function, how it might be increased in children in which it is lacking, limited, or in the process of developing, is of considerable import. This study highlights the effectiveness of robots as a distractor during waiting times and outlines a potential new application of robots in educational contexts.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frobt.2023.1001119/fullpreschoolersdelay of gratificationself-controlexecutive functionrobotssingle-case experimental design |
| spellingShingle | Jaishankar Bharatharaj Irene M. Pepperberg Senthil Kumar Sasthan Kutty Achudhan Munisamy Chris Krägeloh Exploring the utility of robots as distractors during a delay-of-gratification task in preschool children Frontiers in Robotics and AI preschoolers delay of gratification self-control executive function robots single-case experimental design |
| title | Exploring the utility of robots as distractors during a delay-of-gratification task in preschool children |
| title_full | Exploring the utility of robots as distractors during a delay-of-gratification task in preschool children |
| title_fullStr | Exploring the utility of robots as distractors during a delay-of-gratification task in preschool children |
| title_full_unstemmed | Exploring the utility of robots as distractors during a delay-of-gratification task in preschool children |
| title_short | Exploring the utility of robots as distractors during a delay-of-gratification task in preschool children |
| title_sort | exploring the utility of robots as distractors during a delay of gratification task in preschool children |
| topic | preschoolers delay of gratification self-control executive function robots single-case experimental design |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frobt.2023.1001119/full |
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