Perception of Robot Personality Traits Based on its Design and Behavior: Study on QTrobot in Educational Human-Robot Interaction with University Students

The rapid integration of robots into everyday life has elevated the importance of human-robot interaction (HRI), where robot personality significantly influences user experience (UX) and satisfaction. This study explores how university students assign personality traits to QTrobot based on its design and behaviors in its role as a teaching assistant using both qualitative and quantitative methods. The study addresses three research questions: (1) What personality traits do the university students expect from the social robot as a teaching assistant? (2) What design elements affect the university students' perceptions of the social robot's personality traits? and (3) What are the emotional reactions of the university students when interacting with the social robot as a teaching assistant? Utilizing a human-centered design (HCD) approach informed by participatory design (PD), two workshops with eight university students were conducted in the computing sciences department. Participants (N=8) interacted with QTrobot during a lesson on social media ethics, and data were collected through visual canvas tasks, questionnaires, and interviews, then primarily analyzed through thematic analysis and affinity diagramming. The findings indicate that students expect QTrobot to display social, supportive, and professional personality traits that align with the teaching assistant role. Students' perceptions of robot personality traits were strongly influenced by nonverbal cues, verbal communication style, and the robot's appearance. During the interaction, positive emotions of the participants emerged when QTrobot's behaviors aligned with expected traits, and mismatches in verbal and nonverbal communication led to negative emotions. The study offers a personality-driven design framework for designing social robots that improve UX by enhancing the perception of personality traits.