Julia Merger

Papers

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About

Dr. Julia Merger is a leading researcher at the intersection of human-robot interaction and social robotics, with a focus on how trust, beliefs, and communication shape user acceptance of service robots. Her work is foundational in understanding the psychological and social dynamics that determine whether people will embrace robotic assistants in everyday settings. Her most influential paper, "On the Role of Beliefs and Trust for the Intention to Use Service Robots" (2023, 40 citations), introduces the Integrated Trustworthiness Beliefs Model, a novel framework that moves beyond traditional usability metrics to incorporate user dispositions and trust as core predictors of robot adoption. In a complementary study, "'Sorry' Says the Robot" (2023, 13 citations), Dr. Merger experimentally examines how different trust repair strategies—such as apologies, explanations, and denials—can restore user trust after a robot error, revealing that user personality traits significantly influence which repair tactic is most effective. By bridging social psychology with robotics engineering, Dr. Merger’s contributions are shaping the design of more trustworthy, socially intelligent robots. Her work is essential reading for students and researchers interested in the future of human-robot collaboration.