The relationship between people’s financial anxiety and negative attitudes toward robots

This study examined the relation between people’s financial anxiety and negative attitudes toward robots (NARS) through a survey of Japanese residents. This study indicated a significant positive association between participants’ financial anxiety and negative attitudes toward robots. Higher financial anxiety of the participants elicited stronger negative attitudes toward robots. We observed that the S1 (negative attitude toward situations of interaction with robots) and S2 (negative attitude toward the social influence of robots) were influenced by changes in financial anxiety. Financial anxiety was higher in younger adults than in older adults. No gender differences or age differences related to NARS were found in this study. Our results indicate the importance of paying attention to users’ financial anxiety profiles in human-robot interaction research and have important implications for the development of economic and cultural policies related to robotics.