Carla Guerra

Instituto de Engenharia de Sistemas e Computadores Investigação e Desenvolvimento

Papers

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About

Carla Guerra is a leading researcher in human-robot interaction, with a primary focus on the dynamics of trust in social robotics. Her work investigates how humans form and maintain trust in robotic partners, especially following robot errors or failures. In her highly cited 2018 paper, "Exploring the Impact of Fault Justification in Human-Robot Trust" (41 citations), Guerra demonstrated that a robot’s ability to explain or justify its mistakes significantly influences human trust, challenging the assumption that performance alone dictates trustworthiness. She extended this line of inquiry in her 2019 study, "Do You Trust Me? Investigating the Formation of Trust in Social Robots" (12 citations), which explores the psychological and contextual factors that shape initial trust formation. Guerra’s contributions are pivotal for designing more transparent, reliable, and socially intelligent robots capable of long-term collaboration with humans. Her work has practical implications for assistive robotics, healthcare, and manufacturing, where trust is essential for effective teamwork. By bridging cognitive science and robotics, Guerra is helping to define how future autonomous systems earn and sustain human confidence.