Aike C. Horstmann
Papers
7
Total Citations
334
H-Index
6
About
Aike C. Horstmann is a prominent researcher in human-robot interaction (HRI), whose work sits at the intersection of social psychology, communication science, and robotics. Horstmann's scholarship is particularly distinguished by its rigorous experimental approach to understanding how people perceive, evaluate, and relate to social robots in everyday contexts. With over 300 citations across key publications, their research has meaningfully shaped how scholars understand the psychological dynamics underpinning human-robot relationships. Among Horstmann's most influential contributions is their exploration of expectation formation toward social robots — examining how prior media exposure and real-life encounters shape user anticipations, a line of inquiry that has garnered 129 citations. Equally notable is their experimental demonstration that robots exhibiting lifelike social behavior can inhibit people from switching them off, raising profound ethical questions about robot design and user autonomy (102 citations). Horstmann has also applied classical social-psychological frameworks — including attribution theory and the fundamental attribution error — to robot interaction contexts, illuminating how people assign responsibility and moral agency to non-human agents. More recently, their work has extended into applied domains, including therapeutic robots for children with autism spectrum disorder and combating loneliness in young adults, reflecting a growing commitment to socially impactful robot deployment.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
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- 5When a Robot Violates Expectations13 citations · 2020
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- 7Hey Robot, Can You Help Me Feel Less Lonely?4 citations · 2023