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About

Ruud Hortensius is a cognitive neuroscientist whose work sits at the compelling intersection of social neuroscience and human-robot interaction. His research explores how the human brain perceives, processes, and responds to artificial agents — from social robots to virtual reality entities — drawing on neurocognitive frameworks to understand our increasingly technology-mediated social world. Hortensius has made significant contributions to understanding how humans attribute emotion, empathy, and social meaning to robots and AI systems. His highly cited papers, including "Social Cognition in the Age of Human–Robot Interaction" (177 citations), "The Perception of Emotion in Artificial Agents" (168 citations), and "From Social Brains to Social Robots" (166 citations), have helped establish a rigorous neuroscientific foundation for human-robot interaction research. Notably, his neuroimaging work demonstrated that socializing with a robot can meaningfully alter empathic responses in the brain, bridging laboratory findings with real-world implications. Beyond individual psychology, Hortensius has investigated cross-cultural attitudes toward artificial agents and group dynamics in human-robot teams, including empathy and schadenfreude. His methodological contributions — including tutorials for tracking real-world human-robot interactions — further demonstrate his commitment to advancing the field beyond controlled laboratory settings into everyday life.