{"id":{"repo_id":"bielefeld","oai_identifier":"oai:pub.uni-bielefeld.de:3005058"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/bielefeld/oai:pub.uni-bielefeld.de:3005058","repository":{"repo_id":"bielefeld","name":"Universität Bielefeld","base_url":"https://pub.uni-bielefeld.de/oai"},"display":{"title":"Face off: Linguistic perspectives on politeness in human–robot interaction","abstract":"This interdisciplinary work combines theoretical and methodological elements from the fields of linguistics and human–robot interaction to gain multifaceted insights into the subject of politeness in human–robot and human–human interaction. Four different studies considered different perspectives on politeness in human–robot interaction: influences on politeness (Study I), users’ expectations regarding politeness (Study II), users’ politeness towards a robot (Study III) and users’ perception of a robot’s use of politeness (Study IV). From a human–robot interaction perspective the studies shed light on the question whether and how the complex social linguistic phenomenon of politeness should be implemented in social robots. From a linguistic perspective, this work contributes to research on politeness by implementing and analyzing previous theories of politeness which represent diverse views. In addition, this work also offers a methodological contribution by combining first- and second-order analyses and comparing human–robot interaction with human–human interaction.
The first two studies approach politeness in human–robot interaction by measuring potential users’ expectations prior to interaction with the robot and influences on these expectations. In an online questionnaire study (Study I) different role-based relationships between humans and robots, as well as between humans, were assessed based on the perception of the concepts of power, distance, and rank, which are derived from Brown & Levinson’s (1987) politeness theory. An interview study (Study II) investigated participants’ expectations regarding a robot’s use of politeness compared to a human’s use of politeness. This study provided insights for the implementation of politeness in robots based on two different types of politeness strategies found in the data: adaptive and rule-governed politeness. Additionally, the data was also considered for a linguistic analysis of lay conceptualizations of German politeness in comparison to various theories with different views of the phenomenon. A human–robot interaction study (Study III) provided a different perspective on the topic by examining participants’ production of politeness through an analysis of participants’ use of indirect politeness in disconfirming responses directed at the robot compared to those directed at a human. The novel approach considered in this analysis provided insights on different markers used towards a robot compared to when talking to a human. Based on the results of the interview study (Study II), a theoretical linguistic model of politeness production is developed and discussed in comparison to concepts and models proposed in previous linguistic research on politeness. The final study (Study IV) implemented the model as well as the results of the interview study (Study II) in a human–robot interaction study. The aim of the study was to provide further insights into the model through the implementation as well as measure participants’ perception of the two politeness strategies found in the interview study. This final study thereby brings together different results of the previous studies and considers a third perspective on politeness in human–robot interaction through the analysis of the perception of the robot’s use of politeness.
The two types of politeness found in Study II, adaptive and rule-governed politeness, stand at the core of this work. Overall, for human–robot interaction implementations, the empirical results from the three different perspectives (expectations regarding robots’ politeness, users’ politeness, perception of robots’ use of politeness) suggest that, with the current technical development, only rule-governed politeness strategies should be implemented in social robots robots especially in public settings, by considering culture specific, rather conventional, and simple politeness markers.
From a linguistic perspective, the new methodological approaches taken in the analyses provide interesting results, as they indicate that the lay conceptualizations of German politeness are more in line with contemporary, discursive, views of politeness rather than with views of politeness as rational and strategic, as seen in first-wave, traditional, politeness theories. Additionally, the theoretical model of politeness production differentiates adaptive and rule-governed politeness based on assumptions regarding cognitive processing and provides a bridge between participants’ conceptualizations and the implementation in Study IV. This new binary distinction of politeness and the theoretical model thereby provide a theoretical basis for future research to gain more insights on the processes of politeness production.","abstract_html":"This interdisciplinary work combines theoretical and methodological elements from the fields of linguistics and human–robot interaction to gain multifaceted insights into the subject of politeness in human–robot and human–human interaction. Four different studies considered different perspectives on politeness in human–robot interaction: influences on politeness (Study I), users’ expectations regarding politeness (Study II), users’ politeness towards a robot (Study III) and users’ perception of a robot’s use of politeness (Study IV). From a human–robot interaction perspective the studies shed light on the question whether and how the complex social linguistic phenomenon of politeness should be implemented in social robots. From a linguistic perspective, this work contributes to research on politeness by implementing and analyzing previous theories of politeness which represent diverse views. In addition, this work also offers a methodological contribution by combining first- and second-order analyses and comparing human–robot interaction with human–human interaction.<br /><br /> The first two studies approach politeness in human–robot interaction by measuring potential users’ expectations prior to interaction with the robot and influences on these expectations. In an online questionnaire study (Study I) different role-based relationships between humans and robots, as well as between humans, were assessed based on the perception of the concepts of power, distance, and rank, which are derived from Brown & Levinson’s (1987) politeness theory. An interview study (Study II) investigated participants’ expectations regarding a robot’s use of politeness compared to a human’s use of politeness. This study provided insights for the implementation of politeness in robots based on two different types of politeness strategies found in the data: adaptive and rule-governed politeness. Additionally, the data was also considered for a linguistic analysis of lay conceptualizations of German politeness in comparison to various theories with different views of the phenomenon. A human–robot interaction study (Study III) provided a different perspective on the topic by examining participants’ production of politeness through an analysis of participants’ use of indirect politeness in disconfirming responses directed at the robot compared to those directed at a human. The novel approach considered in this analysis provided insights on different markers used towards a robot compared to when talking to a human. Based on the results of the interview study (Study II), a theoretical linguistic model of politeness production is developed and discussed in comparison to concepts and models proposed in previous linguistic research on politeness. The final study (Study IV) implemented the model as well as the results of the interview study (Study II) in a human–robot interaction study. The aim of the study was to provide further insights into the model through the implementation as well as measure participants’ perception of the two politeness strategies found in the interview study. This final study thereby brings together different results of the previous studies and considers a third perspective on politeness in human–robot interaction through the analysis of the perception of the robot’s use of politeness.<br /><br /> The two types of politeness found in Study II, adaptive and rule-governed politeness, stand at the core of this work. Overall, for human–robot interaction implementations, the empirical results from the three different perspectives (expectations regarding robots’ politeness, users’ politeness, perception of robots’ use of politeness) suggest that, with the current technical development, only rule-governed politeness strategies should be implemented in social robots robots especially in public settings, by considering culture specific, rather conventional, and simple politeness markers.<br /><br /> From a linguistic perspective, the new methodological approaches taken in the analyses provide interesting results, as they indicate that the lay conceptualizations of German politeness are more in line with contemporary, discursive, views of politeness rather than with views of politeness as rational and strategic, as seen in first-wave, traditional, politeness theories. Additionally, the theoretical model of politeness production differentiates adaptive and rule-governed politeness based on assumptions regarding cognitive processing and provides a bridge between participants’ conceptualizations and the implementation in Study IV. This new binary distinction of politeness and the theoretical model thereby provide a theoretical basis for future research to gain more insights on the processes of politeness production.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Lumer, Eleonore"],"institution":"Universität Bielefeld","degree_name":null,"degree_level":"thesis.doctoral","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2025,"date_issued":"2025-06-06","date_published":"2025-06-06","updated_at":"2026-07-27T18:50:12Z","subjects":[],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://pub.uni-bielefeld.de/record/3005058","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"source_url"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Lumer, Eleonore"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Universitätsbibliothek Bielefeld"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["doctoralThesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["thesis.doctoral"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Universität Bielefeld"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This interdisciplinary work combines theoretical and methodological elements from the fields of linguistics and human–robot interaction to gain multifaceted insights into the subject of politeness in human–robot and human–human interaction. Four different studies considered different perspectives on politeness in human–robot interaction: influences on politeness (Study I), users’ expectations regarding politeness (Study II), users’ politeness towards a robot (Study III) and users’ perception of a robot’s use of politeness (Study IV). From a human–robot interaction perspective the studies shed light on the question whether and how the complex social linguistic phenomenon of politeness should be implemented in social robots. From a linguistic perspective, this work contributes to research on politeness by implementing and analyzing previous theories of politeness which represent diverse views. In addition, this work also offers a methodological contribution by combining first- and second-order analyses and comparing human–robot interaction with human–human interaction.
The first two studies approach politeness in human–robot interaction by measuring potential users’ expectations prior to interaction with the robot and influences on these expectations. In an online questionnaire study (Study I) different role-based relationships between humans and robots, as well as between humans, were assessed based on the perception of the concepts of power, distance, and rank, which are derived from Brown & Levinson’s (1987) politeness theory. An interview study (Study II) investigated participants’ expectations regarding a robot’s use of politeness compared to a human’s use of politeness. This study provided insights for the implementation of politeness in robots based on two different types of politeness strategies found in the data: adaptive and rule-governed politeness. Additionally, the data was also considered for a linguistic analysis of lay conceptualizations of German politeness in comparison to various theories with different views of the phenomenon. A human–robot interaction study (Study III) provided a different perspective on the topic by examining participants’ production of politeness through an analysis of participants’ use of indirect politeness in disconfirming responses directed at the robot compared to those directed at a human. The novel approach considered in this analysis provided insights on different markers used towards a robot compared to when talking to a human. Based on the results of the interview study (Study II), a theoretical linguistic model of politeness production is developed and discussed in comparison to concepts and models proposed in previous linguistic research on politeness. The final study (Study IV) implemented the model as well as the results of the interview study (Study II) in a human–robot interaction study. The aim of the study was to provide further insights into the model through the implementation as well as measure participants’ perception of the two politeness strategies found in the interview study. This final study thereby brings together different results of the previous studies and considers a third perspective on politeness in human–robot interaction through the analysis of the perception of the robot’s use of politeness.
The two types of politeness found in Study II, adaptive and rule-governed politeness, stand at the core of this work. Overall, for human–robot interaction implementations, the empirical results from the three different perspectives (expectations regarding robots’ politeness, users’ politeness, perception of robots’ use of politeness) suggest that, with the current technical development, only rule-governed politeness strategies should be implemented in social robots robots especially in public settings, by considering culture specific, rather conventional, and simple politeness markers.
From a linguistic perspective, the new methodological approaches taken in the analyses provide interesting results, as they indicate that the lay conceptualizations of German politeness are more in line with contemporary, discursive, views of politeness rather than with views of politeness as rational and strategic, as seen in first-wave, traditional, politeness theories. Additionally, the theoretical model of politeness production differentiates adaptive and rule-governed politeness based on assumptions regarding cognitive processing and provides a bridge between participants’ conceptualizations and the implementation in Study IV. This new binary distinction of politeness and the theoretical model thereby provide a theoretical basis for future research to gain more insights on the processes of politeness production."]},{"key":"dc:format.medium","label":"Dc Format Medium","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Face off: Linguistic perspectives on politeness in human–robot interaction"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Lumer, Eleonore"],"dc:description.abstract":["This interdisciplinary work combines theoretical and methodological elements from the fields of linguistics and human–robot interaction to gain multifaceted insights into the subject of politeness in human–robot and human–human interaction. Four different studies considered different perspectives on politeness in human–robot interaction: influences on politeness (Study I), users’ expectations regarding politeness (Study II), users’ politeness towards a robot (Study III) and users’ perception of a robot’s use of politeness (Study IV). From a human–robot interaction perspective the studies shed light on the question whether and how the complex social linguistic phenomenon of politeness should be implemented in social robots. From a linguistic perspective, this work contributes to research on politeness by implementing and analyzing previous theories of politeness which represent diverse views. In addition, this work also offers a methodological contribution by combining first- and second-order analyses and comparing human–robot interaction with human–human interaction.
The first two studies approach politeness in human–robot interaction by measuring potential users’ expectations prior to interaction with the robot and influences on these expectations. In an online questionnaire study (Study I) different role-based relationships between humans and robots, as well as between humans, were assessed based on the perception of the concepts of power, distance, and rank, which are derived from Brown & Levinson’s (1987) politeness theory. An interview study (Study II) investigated participants’ expectations regarding a robot’s use of politeness compared to a human’s use of politeness. This study provided insights for the implementation of politeness in robots based on two different types of politeness strategies found in the data: adaptive and rule-governed politeness. Additionally, the data was also considered for a linguistic analysis of lay conceptualizations of German politeness in comparison to various theories with different views of the phenomenon. A human–robot interaction study (Study III) provided a different perspective on the topic by examining participants’ production of politeness through an analysis of participants’ use of indirect politeness in disconfirming responses directed at the robot compared to those directed at a human. The novel approach considered in this analysis provided insights on different markers used towards a robot compared to when talking to a human. Based on the results of the interview study (Study II), a theoretical linguistic model of politeness production is developed and discussed in comparison to concepts and models proposed in previous linguistic research on politeness. The final study (Study IV) implemented the model as well as the results of the interview study (Study II) in a human–robot interaction study. The aim of the study was to provide further insights into the model through the implementation as well as measure participants’ perception of the two politeness strategies found in the interview study. This final study thereby brings together different results of the previous studies and considers a third perspective on politeness in human–robot interaction through the analysis of the perception of the robot’s use of politeness.
The two types of politeness found in Study II, adaptive and rule-governed politeness, stand at the core of this work. Overall, for human–robot interaction implementations, the empirical results from the three different perspectives (expectations regarding robots’ politeness, users’ politeness, perception of robots’ use of politeness) suggest that, with the current technical development, only rule-governed politeness strategies should be implemented in social robots robots especially in public settings, by considering culture specific, rather conventional, and simple politeness markers.
From a linguistic perspective, the new methodological approaches taken in the analyses provide interesting results, as they indicate that the lay conceptualizations of German politeness are more in line with contemporary, discursive, views of politeness rather than with views of politeness as rational and strategic, as seen in first-wave, traditional, politeness theories. Additionally, the theoretical model of politeness production differentiates adaptive and rule-governed politeness based on assumptions regarding cognitive processing and provides a bridge between participants’ conceptualizations and the implementation in Study IV. This new binary distinction of politeness and the theoretical model thereby provide a theoretical basis for future research to gain more insights on the processes of politeness production."],"dc:format.medium":["application/pdf"],"dc:publisher":["Universitätsbibliothek Bielefeld"],"dc:title":["Face off: Linguistic perspectives on politeness in human–robot interaction"],"dc:type":["doctoralThesis"],"thesis:degree_level":["thesis.doctoral"],"thesis:institution_name":["Universität Bielefeld"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-27T18:50:12Z"}