Generating process of stories in robot assisted activity: A case study of Robot Assisted Activity with pet-type robot at a for-profit nursing home

Abstract

The present study investigated the case of robot assisted activity (RAA) for elderly inpatients, and examined RAA as co-constructing process of stories about the robot. We carried out RAA program with pet-type robot for elderly people in the for-profit nursing home, and conducted participant observation. We collected quantitative and qualitative data concerned with the participants' behaviors during RAA program, and examined the features of the participants' interaction and narratives. As a result of these analyses, we could observe that the participants generated the "story of RAA" based on the participants' own narratives. The residents who joined in RAA repeatedly conducted "mind reading" toward pet-type robot, and narrated the "story" about the robot's behavior with each other. The participants "approved the story in cooperation" (Asao, 1996). Moreover, not only the elderly subjects but also the staff members and the author joined in the constructing process of the story. We could conclude that RAA was a co-constructing process of heterogeneity (Sugiman, 2001) based on the participants' narratives. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)