Robotic Pets and Preschoolers

This project is part of a larger concern with how computational technologies affect the cognitive and emotional life of children. The Robotic Pets project focuses on how preschoolers understand and interact with the robotic dog Aibo, a Sony creation. If robotic pets could substitute for real pets, a new set of possibilities might well open up for stimulating the intellectual and moral life of young children. But robotic pets raise other issues that this project investigates: how do children conceive of the robot’s mental and emotional state? Can the companionship of a machine produce the same level of emotional satisfaction and growth as can a relationship with a living animal? How do children conceive of the moral status of a robotic pet, and do their conceptions lead them to a growing understanding of the larger moral order in which they live?

Project Lead
Deanne Pérez-Granados

Back to Top