Nathan Yocum
Papers
1
Total Citations
33
H-Index
1
About
Nathan Yocum is a researcher at the intersection of human-robot interaction (HRI) and social robotics, with a focus on how people perceive and respond to robots in social contexts. His work explores the psychological and ethical dimensions of human-robot relationships, particularly examining how robot attributes—such as size—influence perceptions of mistreatment and emotional capability. In his highly cited 2016 paper, "Too big to be mistreated?," Yocum demonstrated that people attribute greater emotional capacity to robots than to computers, and that a robot’s physical size can shape moral judgments about how it should be treated. This foundational research, with 33 citations, has contributed to a growing body of work on robot rights, anthropomorphism, and the ethics of human-robot interaction. Yocum’s studies are particularly relevant for designers and policymakers aiming to create socially responsible robots, and his findings challenge assumptions about how humans assign moral standing to machines. His work continues to influence debates on robot mistreatment and the social dynamics of human-robot encounters.
Research Focus
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Top Papers
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