The power of justifications to repair human-robot trust, even under moral disagreement.

ABSTRACT: To avert criticism and losses of trust, robots that adopt social roles in the near future will have to be aware of and follow the norms of the communities in which they operate. However, norms often conflict with one another, and resolving such conflicts requires prioritizing one norm and violating the other, conflicting norm. As a result, robots will face moral disapproval from at least some of their human interaction partners. We investigate a powerful tool that humans use-and autonomous agents should use-to manage such moral disapproval and maintain trust: justifications, which explain not just why the agent acted but what norms and values the action upheld. In three experiments (N = 3,596), we demonstrate, replicate, and generalize that justifications, more than mere explanations, miti

SUBMITTER: Phillips EK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12500976 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature