My Humorous Robot: Effects of a Robot Telling Jokes on Perceived Intelligence and Liking

Research suggests, interpersonal competences such as having a sense of humor can help establish sociality in human-robot interaction. This study tested the effect of different types of jokes told by either a human or a robot (NAO) on the perceived intelligence and liking of the narrator. Results of a mixed-design ANOVA showed that only clever jokes could increase the attribution of intelligence to a robot. No significant differences were found for different types of jokes on liking the robot.