Fear is Contagious and You Can Catch it From a Robot
This cuddly little robot creates contagious fear and that's a good thing!
Scientists have created a robot which makes people afraid.
While that might sound like the machinations of a malevolent supervillain, it’s part of an effort to better understand and regulate human emotional states.
The 2022 horror comedy M3GAN (streaming now on SYFY) centers on the relationship between eight-year-old Cady (Violet McGraw) and an interactive robot named M3GAN. Following a fatal car accident which claims the lives of her parents, Cady goes to live with her aunt Gemma (Allison Williams).
Gemma isn’t very good with children, but she is good with technology. In her role as a roboticist for a high-tech toy company, Gemma creates the model 3 generative android, M3GAN for short. Struggling to connect with her niece, Gemma gives M3GAN to Cady and the two become fast friends. M3GAN’s job is to be Cady’s friend and to protect her from danger, a job she performs with deadly focus.
While M3GAN’s performance leaves a little something to be desired (what with the killing and all), the underlying principle of using machines to help people feel better appears to be sound. A new study reveals how robots can mimic the behavior of living things to influence how we feel, making us calm or making us afraid.
How a “breathing” robot can change a person’s emotional state for good or ill
Psychologists at the University of Amsterdam and the University of British Columbia built plush robots with motorized rib cages, capable of simulated breathing. Physical touch can be a source of comfort but the study, published in the journal Emotion, reveals how negative emotions, including fear, can also spread through touch.
When people are scared or anxious, they often cling to a loved one. A person might hold hands, hug, cradle a pet, or cuddle up next to someone. These kinds of physical touch downregulate negative emotional responses but only sometimes. If the person you’re touching is calm and steady, it will help you calm down, it’s why kids bury themselves in the stable arms of their parents. But researchers suspected that negative emotions like fear or anxiety could be contagious as well.
To find out, study participants held onto a robot while watching a spooky video clip and their heart rate was measured throughout. One group held robots which didn’t breathe, others held robots with stable breathing, and a third group held robots with accelerated breathing which simulated hyperventilating. People who held a robot with accelerated breathing patterns had a significant increase in heart rate compared to the other two groups, indicating an increased fear response. Moreover, participants interpreted the fast-breathing robot as being afraid, which suggests they interpreted simulated breathing the same way they would actual breathing.
The results suggest that physical contact with someone exhibiting fear can induce a fear response in someone else, and that we can simulate that relationship with machines. While building a robot that transmits fear might sound like the central plot of a future dystopia, there are some potential positive applications for mental health. The same relationship could be used to create mechanical feedback which helps regulate a person’s emotional state using robots or wearable devices.
Here in the real world, children like Cady might be helped in the future by fluffy plush robots designed for comfort. With a little luck, our fictional nightmares might become real-world dreams.
Meet your new robotic best friend in M3GAN, streaming now on SYFY.
