Angelica Dalena
Papers
1
Total Citations
16
H-Index
1
About
Angelica Dalena is a developmental psychologist whose research sits at the fascinating intersection of social cognition and human-robot interaction. Her work explores how children perceive and engage with artificial agents, with a particular focus on the subtle cues that govern social behavior. In her most-cited paper, "The Mind in the Machine: Mind Perception Modulates Gaze Aversion During Child–Robot Interaction" (2020, 16 citations), Dalena demonstrated that when children attribute mental states—like thoughts or intentions—to a robot, they adjust their own gaze patterns, mirroring the social dynamics seen in human-to-human interaction. This finding is pivotal, as it reveals that children do not simply treat robots as objects; they apply sophisticated social scripts based on perceived agency. By bridging developmental theory with robotics, Dalena’s work offers critical insights for designing more intuitive and socially aware educational technologies. Though her citation count is still growing, her research is already shaping conversations in both child development and human-robot interaction, laying the groundwork for how future generations will navigate a world shared with intelligent machines.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1