Mikko J. Peltola
Papers
4
Total Citations
77
H-Index
4
About
Mikko J. Peltola investigates the psychophysiology of social interaction, focusing on how humans—from infants to adults—respond to eye contact with both humans and humanoid robots. His research bridges developmental psychology and human-robot interaction, exploring whether artificial agents can elicit the same affective and attentional responses as real people. His most cited work, "Making eye contact with a robot" (2020, 59 citations), demonstrated that eye contact with a humanoid robot triggers psychophysiological responses similar to those in human-human interaction. Subsequent studies (2022, 2023) refined this finding, showing that the experience of being "watched" and perceived intentionality modulate these responses. Notably, his 2024 study extended this line to infants (6–8 months old), revealing that even pre-verbal humans show distinct psychophysiological reactions to robot eye contact, shedding light on the developmental origins of social attention. Peltola’s work has significant implications for designing socially engaging robots and understanding the fundamental mechanisms of human social cognition. His cumulative citations (over 77) reflect growing interest in how humans perceive and emotionally respond to increasingly lifelike artificial agents.
Research Focus
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Top Papers
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