Experiences of a Motivational Interview Delivered by a Robot: Qualitative Study

Abstract

BackgroundMotivational interviewing is an effective intervention for supporting behavior change but traditionally depends on face-to-face dialogue with a human counselor. This study addressed a key challenge for the goal of developing social robotic motivational interviewers: creating an interview protocol, within the constraints of current artificial intelligence, which participants will find engaging and helpful.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to explore participants’ qualitative experiences of a motivational interview delivered by a social robot, including their evaluation of usability of the robot during the interaction and its impact on their motivation.MethodsNAO robots are humanoid, child-sized social robots. We programmed a NAO robot with Choregraphe software to deliver a scripted motivational interview focused on increasing physical activity. The interview was designed to be comprehensible even without an empathetic response from the robot. Robot breathing and face-tracking functions were used to give an impression of attentiveness. A total of 20 participants took part in the robot-delivered motivational interview and evaluated it after 1 week by responding to a series of written open-ended questions. Each participant was left alone to speak aloud with the robot, advancing through a series of questions by tapping the robot’s head sensor. Evaluations were content-analyzed utilizing Boyatzis’ steps: (1) sampling and design, (2) developing themes and codes, and (3) validating and applying the codes.ResultsThemes focused on interaction with the robot, motivation, change in physical activity, and overall evaluation of the intervention. Participants found the instructions clear and the navigation easy to use. Most enjoyed the interaction but also found it was restricted by the lack of individualized response from the robot. Many positively appraised the nonjudgmental aspect of the interview and how it gave space to articulate their motivation for change. Some participants felt that the intervention increased their physical activity levels.ConclusionsSocial robots can achieve a fundamental objective of motivational interviewing, encouraging participants to articulate their goals and dilemmas aloud. Because they are perceived as nonjudgmental, robots may have advantages over more humanoid avatars for delivering virtual support for behavioral change.

Your Robot Therapist Will See You Now: Ethical Implications of Embodied Artificial Intelligence in Psychiatry, Psychology, and Psychotherapy

“…Finally, there are also clear benefits of having a virtual or robotic therapist that is always accessible, has endless amounts of time and patience, never forgets what a patient has said, and does not judge [63,64], thus potentially offering a service that is highly reliable and particularly well-suited to certain patient populations. If integrated into a scaled provision of services, AI-enabled applications could provide support for mild cases of depression and other nonacute conditions [65], therefore helping health professionals to devote more time to the most severe cases.…”

“…Ideas around embodied AI are culturally and historically shaped. Whether providing motivational interviews in therapy [64], acting as embodied conversational agents for mental disorders [47], or working with populations with intellectual disabilities [90], discussion of embodied AI often turns to worries surrounding the limits of human control over technology. Conjuring images of the Terminator or other depictions of the nonhuman in science fiction or cinema, such tools can carry with them negative or scary associations that bring the issue of trust in medical practice into new light [6].…”

Use of Social Robots in Mental Health and Well-Being Research: Systematic Review

“…Our review revealed that 6 of the studies used clinical care staff to observe and measure outcomes related to mood and mood-related behavioral changes, 3 used self-report data [42,43,48], and 3 had researchers use tracking sheets [44,46,50] to report on mood and mental health outcomes. These methods may be an artifact of the populations studied, due to the majority of studies involving persons with cognitive issues who would make self-report challenging.…”

Designing a Chatbot for a Brief Motivational Interview on Stress Management: Qualitative Case Study

“…Our study highlights the possibility of applying a sequential approach to constructing an automated motivational interview with MI skills to integrate both technical and relational components. Previous research has remained rather vague in explicating the relational component or has excluded it in its entirety owing to technological issues (ie, [1,12]). It is important that the MI counsellor uses interactional skills strategically to convey an empathic understanding [15].…”