Kyle Nash

Papers

Total Citations

H-Index

About

Kyle Nash investigates the psychological intersections of human-robot interaction, social cognition, and self-esteem. His most-cited work, "The bionic blues: Robot rejection lowers self-esteem" (2017, 40 citations), demonstrates that people experience tangible drops in self-worth when socially excluded by robots, revealing that our need for belonging extends beyond human relationships into human-machine dynamics. This finding challenges assumptions about the emotional boundaries of technology and has implications for designing socially aware AI. Nash's research bridges social psychology and human-robot interaction, showing how automated rejection triggers the same neural and psychological pain responses as human exclusion. His work has been influential in understanding how emerging technologies shape fundamental human needs, with his studies cited in fields ranging from robotics ethics to clinical psychology. By experimentally demonstrating that even non-human agents can affect core self-evaluations, Nash has opened new avenues for examining how people navigate increasingly automated social environments.