No clear effect of robot anthropomorphism on human autonomy or sense of agency emerges across reviewed studies¶
Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · reviewr3·q2
Currency · newest study 2025 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person
Subclaims¶
Reading the evidence codes
q is the design tier, i the impact, n the sample, and the kind with its r
the rigour judged within that kind: what each code means.
This claim: no standardized effect is recorded in observations/ for it yet, so no benchmark reading is possible.
q2 i? Across the reviewed studies, no clear effect of anthropomorphism on either sense of agency or human autonomy emerged, though individual findings point in different directions. → Glawe 2025
Evidence¶
Glawe 2025¶
Glawe, F., Schmeckel, T., Brauner, P., & Ziefle, M. (2025). Human Autonomy and Sense of Agency in Human-Robot Interaction: A Systematic Literature Review. arXiv. https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.22271 doi:10.48550/arxiv.2509.22271
q2 · i? · review · r3
The review's discussion of four anthropomorphism studies reports no clear overall effect, while individual findings diverge: a higher sense of agency with human-like robots versus a servomotor, a moderate correlation of perceived human-likeness with autonomy, and qualitative reports that humanoid appearance could raise or lower autonomy depending on perceived paternalism.
"In this review, no clear effect emerged for either sense of agency or human autonomy, yet several mechanisms are plausible."
Discussion¶
Related Claims¶
- Research on human autonomy and sense of agency in HRI follows two separate methodological strands with little integrative work bridging them — related
- Robot exposure affects human autonomy and sense of agency, but no general conclusion about the direction of the effect can be drawn — related
- A conceptual framework paper reports, citing a meta-analysis (Roesler et al., 2021), that anthropomorphism benefits human-robot interaction with effects varying across task contexts and design implementations — related
- Manipulating anthropomorphism shows no clear causal effect on trust in controlled post-generative-AI studies, though long-term use and cue type condition its effects — related
- Robot adaptiveness effects on human autonomy are mixed: autonomy-supportive behaviours and as-needed assistance help, but mere choice or high interactivity may not — related
- Robot communication cues affect sense of agency: predicted-path display and averted gaze reduce it, direct gaze raises it, and facial expression shows no effect — related
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
claim |
id |
anthropomorphism-no-clear-effect-autonomy-agency |
title |
No clear effect of robot anthropomorphism on human autonomy or sense of agency emerges across reviewed studies |
description |
No clear effect of robot anthropomorphism on human autonomy or sense of agency emerges across reviewed studies |
status |
review |
evidence_strength |
mixed |
newest_evidence |
2025 |
generated |
by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-10-11 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
1 — glawe-2025 |
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