Synthetic Emotions vs. Gamification: Exploring Engagement Strategies for Small Social Robots in Different Age Groups
Many children face challenges in emotional regulation and social interaction, limiting their participation in therapeutic programs. This study explores engagement strategies for a tactile robot supporting children with anxiety disorders, comparing synthetic emotional feedback and point rewards. A preference study with 16 school children (ages 6-8) showed preference for emotional engagement, while a behavioral study with 14 university students (ages 20-27) found point-based systems yielded higher task accuracy (p<0.05) and sustained performance. These findings highlight age-related differences and the need to validate design assumptions through observed interaction.
Article intelligence
Key points
- Children aged 6-8 prefer emotional engagement over points
- University students show higher task accuracy with point rewards
- Stated preferences and behavioral outcomes may diverge across age groups
Why it matters
This matters because children aged 6-8 prefer emotional engagement over points.
Technical impact
May affect compliance requirements, model release timing, data governance, and enterprise procurement.
[2605.27539] Synthetic Emotions vs. Gamification: Exploring Engagement Strategies for Small Social Robots in Different Age Groups
[Submitted on 26 May 2026]
Title:Synthetic Emotions vs. Gamification: Exploring Engagement Strategies for Small Social Robots in Different Age Groups
View a PDF of the paper titled Synthetic Emotions vs. Gamification: Exploring Engagement Strategies for Small Social Robots in Different Age Groups, by Morten Roed Frederiksen and 1 other authors
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Abstract:Many children experience challenges in emotional regulation and social interaction, which can limit their participation in everyday activities and therapeutic programs. For socially assistive robots to be effective in this context, it is essential that children remain consistently and meaningfully engaged. We explore engagement strategies for a tactile robot designed to support children suffering from anxiety disorders through daily interactions. The robot delivers either synthetic emotional feedback or point rewards to encourage user participation. We evaluated these strategies through two studies: a preference assessment with 16 school children aged 6-8 years, and a behavioral study with 14 university students aged 20-27 years in naturalistic environments. The study with school children indicated a preference for emotional engagement over points-based approaches. The follow up study with university students across a full day of interactions revealed contrasting results: points-based systems produced significantly higher task accuracy (p
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