Yumiko Shinohara
Papers
2
Total Citations
16
H-Index
2
About
Yumiko Shinohara is a leading researcher in human-robot interaction, with a focus on the chameleon effect and non-verbal mimicry. Her work investigates how robots can strategically use behavioral mimicry to build rapport, increase likability, and motivate prosocial behavior in human partners. Shinohara’s landmark study, "The Optimum Rate of Mimicry in Human-Agent Interaction" (2016, 6 citations), established that a mimicry rate of approximately 83% is optimal for enhancing social bonding—a finding that challenged simpler, all-or-nothing approaches to imitation. She subsequently replicated and extended this result in "A Humanoid Robot Can Use Mimicry to Increase Likability and Motivation for Helping" (2018, 10 citations), demonstrating that this optimal rate not only boosts likability but also increases participants’ willingness to help the robot. Her contributions are foundational to the design of socially intelligent robots, providing empirical guidelines for calibrating robot behavior in real-world applications such as education, healthcare, and service. Shinohara’s work bridges social psychology and robotics, offering actionable insights for creating more persuasive and trusted autonomous agents.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1
- 2The Optimum Rate of Mimicry in Human-Agent Interaction6 citations · 2016