The social facilitation effect is a well-researched phenomenon in social psychology that has recently been reproduced through the use of virtual humans. This finding provides opportunities to increase certain human behaviors remotely, which could be crucial in behavior modification. The purpose of the current study was to replicate these findings. Through three manipulations aimed at mimicking this social facilitation effect demonstrated in previous research, no significant effects on performance could be replicated. This suggests that this social psychology principle may not be applicable in a human-machine interaction paradigm.

The purpose of this project was to document the challenges in adapting a measure of complex working memory span for delivery over the web. Automated operation span (AOSPAN;Unsworth, Heitz, Schrock, & Engle, 2005) is one of the most widely used tests for measuring working memory capacity. However, AOSPAN is a computer-based test that runs locally and thus is only suitable for lab-based studies. We have recently created a web-based version of AOSPAN that runs on a much wider variety of platforms (e.g., mobile phones and tablets). Conclusions and recommendations are applicable to researchers who are thinking of conducting studies online and developing web-based measures of which are traditionally used in the laboratory. OBJECTIVESThe purpose of this project is to document recent developments in online studies and uses for web-based applications, specifically webSPAN. The presentation summarized previous problems with data collected in an online environment, possible solutions to those challenges through design recommendations, and the lessons learned from developing the webSPAN. The presentation was followed by interactive demonstrations with audience members.

The purpose of this study is to examine the extent to which appearance, task, and reliability of a robot is susceptible to stereotypic thinking. Stereotypes can influence the types of causal attributions that people make about the performance of others. Just as causal attributions may affect an individual's perception of other people, it may similarly affect perceptions of technology. Stereotypes can also influence perceived capabilities of others. In situations where stereotypes are activated, an individual's perceived capabilities are typically diminished. The tendency to adjust perceptions of capabilities of others may translate into levels of trust placed in the individual's abilities. A factorial survey using video vignettes will be utilized to assess young and older adults' attitudes toward a robot's behavior and appearance. We hypothesize that a robot's older appearance will yield lower levels of trust, more dispositional attributions, and lower perceptions of capabilities while high reliability should positively impact trust.