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About

Dr. Kosuke Taniguchi is a pioneering researcher in human-robot interaction, with a particular focus on developmental psychology and the cognitive biases that shape how children and adults perceive robots. His work centers on two key areas: animism tendencies—the attribution of life-like qualities to robots—and the influence of empathy and gender stereotypes on human-robot relationships. In his most cited study (2021, 44 citations), Taniguchi demonstrated that preschoolers and adults alike exhibit animistic beliefs toward humanoid robots, challenging assumptions about age-related cognitive development. His 2019 paper (35 citations) further revealed that Japanese adults’ willingness to befriend or moralize robots is mediated by their animistic tendencies and empathy levels, with robot appearance (humanoid vs. dog-like vs. egg-shaped) playing a critical role. Taniguchi has also explored how children’s “yes bias” affects their responses to robot questions (2021) and how gender-attribute biases toward robots may reinforce societal stereotypes (2021, 15 citations). Beyond social robotics, his engineering background is evident in a practical innovation: an air duct cleaning robot inspired by peristaltic crawling motion (2017, 18 citations). With over 120 total citations, Taniguchi’s interdisciplinary work bridges developmental psychology, robotics, and education, offering critical insights for designing socially aware robots and fostering inclusive human-robot coexistence.