The third AIR webinar held on Wednesday 30th June 2021. The presentation on “What social cognition can teach us about designing human-robot interaction” was delivered by Dr. Paul Sachs.

Social cognition is a broad term that encompasses the ways in which people come to understand other people around them. Social cognitive processes involve the information that is observed, perceived and the subsequent judgments that are formed by people about others in social situations. The variables that have been examined in social cognition research can be of use in understanding and designing human-robot interaction and facilitating trusting and thus productive working relationships between humans and robots. In this presentation, social cognition concepts, including attributions and schemata, are used to suggest ways of that robot behavior can be designed to work best with people.

Paul R. Sachs is a licensed psychologist in Philadelphia, PA USA, and board certified in rehabilitation psychology. He has worked as a clinician and as a non-profit executive for over 35 years. He is currently founder and director of ReidSachs LLC, a consulting, training and mentoring practice. He is the author of one book, several book chapters and professional articles in the field of rehabilitation and corporate
governance.

The seminar was well attended, and Dr. Sach’s presentation was well-received, leading to a very interesting discussion. The video of the seminar is available here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geOKu1ak5Wo