Family Theories in Child-Robot Interactions: Understanding Families as a Whole for Child-Robot Interaction Design
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In this work, we discuss a theoretically motivated family-centered design approach for child-robot interactions, adapted by Family Systems Theory (FST) and Family Ecological Model (FEM). Long-term engagement and acceptance of robots in the home is influenced by factors that surround the child and the family, such as child-sibling-parent relationships and family routines, rituals, and values. A family-centered approach to interaction design is essential when developing in-home technology for children, especially for social agents like robots with which they can form connections and relationships. We review related literature in family theories and connect it with child-robot interaction and child-computer interaction research. We present two case studies that exemplify how family theories, FST and FEM, can inform the integration of robots into homes, particularly research into child-robot and family-robot interaction. Finally, we pose five overarching recommendations for a family-centered design approach in child-robot interactions.
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Families play a significant role in children's interaction with technology.
“Families as an essential factor of children's development, also play a significant role in children's interaction with technology [9, 16].”
From "When He Feels Cold, He Goes to the Seahorse"—Blending Generative AI into Multimaterial Storymaking for Family Expressive Arts Therapy (2024) · cites this paper as [16]
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Cited by
Sorted by citations
Liu, D., Zhou, H., & An, P. (2024) · Proceedings of the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems · doi:10.1145/3613904.3642852 · Cited by 38 · see citing works
- Authors
- Cagiltay, B., Mutlu, B., & Kerr, M. L.
- Affiliations
- Department of Computer Sciences, University of Wisconsin - Madison, United States
- University of Wisconsin–Madison (US)
- Venue
- Proceedings of the 22nd Annual ACM Interaction Design and Children Conference
- Publisher
- ACM
- Published
- 2023-06-19
- Pages
- 367-374
- OpenAlex
- W4372278717
- Cited by
- 20
- References
- 32
- Citations by year
- 2026: 8 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 5
- FWCI
- 10.01
- Type
- conference paper
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- ACM International Conference on Interaction Design and Children (IDC) (publishedVersion)
- arXiv (Cornell University) (submittedVersion, public-domain)
- arXiv (Cornell University) (public-domain)
- Funders
- National Science Foundation (2202803)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Social Robot Interaction and HRI
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Human-Computer Interaction › Innovative Human-Technology Interaction
- Social Sciences › Education › Child Development and Digital Technology
- Keywords
- child-robot interaction, family systems theory, social robots, child-computer interaction
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