Psychology and Technology Acceptance: A New Approach to Digital Inclusion & User Differentiation

Abstract

The demographic shift marks the beginning of a social transformation with far reaching implications (United Nations, 2015). A way to alleviate some of the challenges that come with this demographic shift is assistive technology (Broadbent, Stafford, & MacDonald, 2009). In order to increase the effectiveness of such technologies, their acceptance by target populations must be evaluated (Beer, Prakash, Mitzner, & Rogers, 2011). Our study examines technology acceptance of socially assistive robots among the future elderly (N=188). Applying a scenario-based survey, our study investigates the interplay between age, personality, resilience, and technology acceptance. Our findings suggest that personality plays a significant role in determining acceptance of technologies such as socially assistive robots. To the best of our knowledge, our study is one of the first that considers and evaluates resilience as a factor of technology acceptance.