Papers
1
Total Citations
142
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1
About
Yunkyung Kim is a researcher whose work sits at the fascinating intersection of human-robot interaction, social robotics, and affective computing. Her most recognized contribution explores the psychological and design factors that shape how humans emotionally connect with robots — most notably, what drives people to empathize with them. Her 2013 paper, "What Makes People Empathize with an Emotional Robot?", which has garnered 142 citations, investigates how variables such as agency and physical embodiment influence the degree of empathy humans extend toward robotic systems. This work is particularly significant as it bridges cognitive psychology and robotics design, offering actionable insights for engineers and designers seeking to build emotionally resonant human-robot relationships. By demonstrating that perceived agency and physical presence meaningfully affect emotional responses, Kim's research has helped establish a framework for understanding the social and affective dimensions of robot interaction. Her contributions are especially relevant in an era of rapidly expanding robot deployment in caregiving, education, and companionship contexts, where emotional attunement between humans and machines is not merely desirable but essential. Her scholarship continues to inform both theoretical and applied work in social robotics.
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Top Papers
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