The Impact of a Socially Assistive Robot on Mood, Anxiety, and Arousal in Children

Stress is prevalent in childhood and is associated with deleterious outcomes including chronic pain and psychopathology. Socially Assistive Robots (SARs) hold promise for addressing this stress. We conducted the first controlled study of an SAR for this purpose. The SAR increased positive mood, but not negative mood, anxiety, or arousal.