Type of Education Affects Individuals' Adoption of Intentional Stance Towards Robots: An EEG Study

Research has shown that, under certain circumstances, people can adopt the Intentional Stance towards robots and thus treat them as intentional agents. Previous evidence showed that there are factors at play in modulating the Intentional Stance, for example individuals’ years of education. In the present study, we aimed at investigating whether, given the same years of education, participants’ type of formal education- in terms of theoretical background- affected their adoption of the Intentional Stance. To do so, we recruited two samples of participants varying in their type of formal education, namely, a sample of participants comprised individuals with a background in robotics, whereas the other comprised individuals with a background in psychotherapy. To measure their likelihood of adopting the Intentional Stance, we asked them to complete the InStance Test (IST). To do it at the neural level, we recorded their neural activity during a resting state via electroencephalography (EEG). Results showed that therapists attributed higher IST scores of intentionality to the robot than roboticists, i.e., they were more likely to attribute Intentional Stance to explain robot’s behaviour. This result was mirrored by participants’ EEG neural activity during resting state, as we found higher power in the gamma frequency range (associated with mentalizing and the adoption of Intentional Stance) for therapists compared to roboticists. Therefore, we conclude that the type of education that promotes mentalizing skills increases the likelihood of attributing intentionality to robots.