Emily Bernier

Papers

Total Citations

506

H-Index

About

Emily Bernier is a leading researcher at the intersection of social robotics and developmental psychology, with a primary focus on using robotic agents to study and enhance social behavior in atypical populations. Her most impactful contribution is the landmark 2012 study, "Social Robots as Embedded Reinforcers of Social Behavior in Children with Autism," which has garnered over 450 citations. This work demonstrated that robots could serve as powerful, embedded reinforcers to elicit and shape social communication in children on the autism spectrum, laying foundational groundwork for robot-assisted therapy. Bernier also advanced the field with her 2010 investigation into the similarity-attraction effect in human-robot interaction, a pivotal study that helped validate robotic models of social development by showing that humans respond to perceived attitudinal similarity in robots much as they do with other people. Her research is notable for its rigorous experimental design and its direct translational impact, bridging basic social science with practical interventions. Bernier’s work remains essential reading for anyone interested in how robots can be designed to foster meaningful social engagement.