Robopsychology


Robopsychology is the study of the personalities and behavior of intelligent machines. The term was coined by Isaac Asimov in the short stories collected in I, Robot, which featured robopsychologist Dr. Susan Calvin, and whose plots largely revolved around the protagonist solving problems connected with intelligent robot behaviour. The term has been also used in some academic studies from the field of psychology and human–computer interactions.

In real life

Andrea Kuszewski, a self-described robopsychologist gives the following examples of potential responsibilities for a robopsychologist in Discover.
There is a robospychology research division at Ars Electronica Futurelab
A.V. Libin and E.V. Libin define the term as follows: " a systematic study of compatibility between people and artificial creatures on many different levels . Robotic psychology studies individual differences in people’s interactions with various robots, as well as the diversity of the robots themselves, applying principles of differential psychology to the traditional fields of human factors and human–computer interactions. Moreover, robopsychologists study psychological mechanisms of the animation of the technological entity which result in a unique phenomenon defined as a robot’s “personality.”"

In fiction

As described by Asimov, robopsychology appears to be a mixture of detailed mathematical analysis and traditional psychology, applied to robots. Human psychology is also a part, covering human interaction with robots. This includes the "Frankenstein complex" – the irrational fear that robots will turn on their creator.