Colleen M. Carpinella

Papers

Total Citations

559

H-Index

About

Colleen M. Carpinella is a leading figure in human-robot interaction, whose work fundamentally shapes how we understand and measure people's perceptions of robots. Her research masterfully bridges social psychology and robotics, focusing on how a robot's physical appearance—from its gender cues to its mechanical features—drives trait inferences and evaluative responses. Carpinella’s most impactful contribution is the development of the Robotic Social Attributes Scale (RoSAS), a rigorously validated tool that has become the gold standard for quantifying social perception in robotics. This seminal work, cited over 540 times, provides researchers with a reliable framework to assess key dimensions like warmth, competence, and discomfort. Her subsequent research, including the highly cited study "The authority of appearance," further demonstrates how specific design features directly influence people's liking and willingness to interact with a robot. By providing the empirical tools to dissect these critical social dynamics, Carpinella’s work is essential for any researcher or designer aiming to create robots that are not only functional but also socially accepted and effective.