Beyond Companionship: Exploring the Role of Social Robots in Mitigating Emotional and Social Loneliness of the Elderly

Abstract

The global population is ageing rapidly, presenting significant challenges to promoting healthy ageing and well-being. Loneliness is a widespread concern among older adults, profoundly affecting their well-being. Social robots—designed to engage in social interactions and form emotional connections—are increasingly perceived as social actors in human-robot relationships and offer promising potential to alleviate loneliness. This study examines how older adults interact with social robots to address different forms of loneliness and enhance their subjective well-being. We conducted four studies: an initial qualitative pilot with older adults to explore their perceptions of the potential of social robots to alleviate loneliness; a second quantitative pilot to assess the relevance of the hypotheses and pretest measurement scales; a first main study manipulating emotional and social loneliness in older adults to test the hypotheses; and a second main study that replicated the first, focusing on older adults from a caregiver perspective. The results reveal two distinct mechanisms through which social robots enhance well-being: attachment for individuals experiencing emotional loneliness and social integration for those facing social loneliness. These findings provide insights into the role of social robots in mitigating different forms of loneliness among older adults. This research contributes to the literature on loneliness, transformative consumer research, and human-robot interaction.