Book-talks with Furhat : How can Interaction with Conversational Robots be Used to Motivate Swedish Middle Schoolers to Read?

Abstract: In recent years, Swedish school children have experienced a decline in reading motivation. This is no less true for middle school students both in and outside of school. This thesis aims to find ways in which robot book-talks can be used in a school setting to motivate middle schoolers to read. With a Research through Design approach, the study also aims to find recommendations for designers in the future. These goals were achieved through a design process in three phases, in which the author developed and tested book-talks between fourth graders and the robot Furhat from Furhat Robotics, using the Wizard of Oz (WOZ) technique. In the final evaluative phase, the students had book-talks with Furhat in two different modes, over two sessions. In Passive mode, the robot asked general questions and made little effort to make sure the students were concentrating on the task. This mode served as a baseline for the “novelty effect”. The other – Active mode – built on the ideas created throughout the process. In this mode, the robot asked questions directly related to the students’ books and made more effort to guide the students through their task. Results show that while the robot interaction was appreciated by all partaking students, it was not possible to prove if it spurred genuine reading motivation. Nevertheless, results showed that the interaction could potentially fulfil the basic psychological needs of competence and relatedness. Along with autonomy, both needs are fundamental to motivation and well-being, according to Self-Determination Theory. The book-talks’ effect on students’ autonomy could not be tested properly, as there were too few copies of the books which the students could read for the book-talks. The study also showed signs of the “novelty effect”, as some students were interested in reading more so that they could talk to the robot again. Three main takeaways for future designers were found as a result of the study: using Self-Determination Theory to create UX goals and to design; make designs that encourage people to interact with people; both follow and guide the users throughout the WOZ interaction, to create moments where the students can experience relatedness and show competence.