Int. J. Human–Computer Studies 171 (2023) 102981 Available online 11 December 2022 1071-5819/© 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Between fear and trust: Older adults’ evaluation of socially assistive robots Oded Zafrani a, * , Galit Nimrod b , Yael Edan c a Department of Economics, Ruppin Academic Center, Emek Hefer, Israel b Department of Communication Studies and The Center for Multidisciplinary Research in Aging, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel; c Department of Industrial Engineering and Management and the Agricultural Biological Cognitive Initiative, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel; A R T I C L E INFO Keywords: Aging human-robot interaction quality evaluation socially assistive robots technophobia trust ABSTRACT Socially Assistive Robots (SARs) are expected to support autonomy, aging in place, and wellbeing in later life. Acceptance and successful assimilation of SARs among older adults depend ontheir Quality Evaluations (QEs), namely, the pragmatic and hedonic evaluations and overall attractiveness. Previous studies showed that trust in robots signifcantly enhances QE, while technophobia considerably decreases it. However, so far, these key factors have always been explored separately. Applying a case study approach, the current research aimed to examine the relative impact of these two factors on older persons’ QE of SARs. The study was based on an online survey of 384 individuals aged 65 and above. Respondents were presented with a video of Gymmy, a robotic system for physical and cognitive training, and flled out a questionnaire relating to that system. The results indicated a positive association between trust and QE and a negative association between technophobia and QE. A simultaneous exploration demonstrated that the relative impact of technophobia was signifcantly more substantial than that of trust. In addition, the pragmatic qualities of the robot were found to be more crucial to its QE than the social aspects of use. The fndings suggest that implementing robotics technology in later life strongly depends on reducing older adults’ technophobia regarding the convenience of using SARs. The study also highlights the importance of simultaneous explorations of facilitators and inhibitors to SARs use. 1. Introduction 1.1. Problem description Population aging is expected to be the most prominent global de- mographic trend of the twenty-frst century, with repercussions for nearly all sectors of society (Zafrani & Nimrod, 2019). Globally, the population aged 65 or over is growing faster than all younger age groups (Raja et al., 2021; Taieb-Maimon & Vaisman-Fairstein, 2022). To address the social and economic challenges associated with aging (Yuan et al., 2021) and the increased need for caregivers (Stuck & Rogers, 2018), smart technological solutions are necessary (Ghorayeb et al., 2021), wherein social robots are expected to play a central role (Beer et al., 2012). In the past two decades, various robotic technologies have been created particularly for older people or adapted to their needs (Krajnik et al., 2015). A systematic review of the literature on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) in later life (Zafrani & Nimrod, 2019) indicated that interacting with robots is experienced by older people as cognitively stimulating (Louie & Nejat, 2020) and as an enjoyable activity (De Graaf et al., 2015). It also decreases frustration and stress and has benefcial effects on users’ psychological wellbeing (Henschel et al., 2021). Overall, it was found to have numerous opportunities and great poten- tial to improve older adults’ independence and autonomy leading to improved quality of life (Robinson & Kavanagh, 2021; Wang et al., 2021; Wu et al., 2021). Moreover, future robots are expected to play a variety of roles such as caregivers (Amin et al., 2021), physical trainers (Krakovsky et al., 2021), personal assistants (Jishnu et al., 2020), teachers (Adamson et al., 2021), weight-loss coaches (Kidd & Breazeal, 2007) and even sexual objects (Jecker, 2021). Socially Assistive Robots (SARs) combine features of assistive robots and social robots. Assisting users through social rather than physical interaction, SARs are designed to provide the appropriate emotional, cognitive, and social cues to encourage individuals’ development, learning, or therapy (Feil-Seifer & Mataric, 2005). Such robots are offered in various formats: humanoids, non-humanoids, and androids (Yogeeswaran et al., 2016). A humanoid robot is a robot with its body shape is designed and built to resemble the human body (Cuevas et al., 2021; Iivari, 2012), while non-humanoid robots, on the other hand, are often more machine-like in appearance (Cha et al., 2018). An android * Correspondence: Oded Zafrani, Department of Economics, Ruppin Academic Center, Emek Hefer, Israel. Phone: 0545855131. E-mail address: odedzaf@post.bgu.ac.il (O. Zafrani). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect International Journal of Human - Computer Studies journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijhcs https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhcs.2022.102981 Received 24 May 2022; Received in revised form 4 December 2022; Accepted 9 December 2022