A scale measuring ethical acceptability of Robot Enhanced Therapy for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

A survey measuring the ethical acceptability of social robots in robot enhanced therapy (RET) for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) was developed. Three components of ethical acceptability were revealed: for use, for human-like interaction and for non-human appearance. The results indicate a high level of ethical acceptability on all the three factors. Men had a higher level of ethical acceptability of social robots on all the three factors, and younger respondents were more willing to accept the use of social robots in RET for ASD compared to older ones. Furthermore, respondents who had previous experience with robots had higher levels of ethical acceptability on all the three factors. Parents show a good acceptance level of using social robots in therapy of ASD, but a lower level compared with the other group. Education did not influence the level of ethical acceptability.

Publication year:2016

Keywords:ethics, Attitudes, Robot Enhanced Therapy, autism, children