ORCID

Abstract

The acceleration of technology advancements has resulted in the growth of digital solutions to support with behaviour change in a wide range of domains. Social robots have been explored for their feasibility as agents to deliver established and novel talk-based person-centred behaviour change interventions, such as Motivational Interviewing and Functional Imagery Training (FIT), due to their interactive design and a way to support the growing pressures on health sectors. This thesis builds on previous feasibility work but explores the use of the social robots to support students in changing procrastination behaviours. There is a high prevalence of reported procrastination in students, despite the various consequences from increased stress and impact on mental health. The thesis initially explores the behaviours and domain of procrastination to support with the development of a FIT intervention that focuses on eliciting motivation to change behaviours while equipping people with imagery skills to maintain the motivation for change (Chapter 4). Chapter 5 includes two studies exploring social robots delivering FIT. Study one compared the differences in elicited behaviour change, motivation and confidence between a human therapist and robot delivering the same intervention over a four-week period. In the second study, to explore the importance of digital personalised talk-based therapy, a simple linear FIT intervention was compared to a more personalised approach. For both four-week trials, in addition to the change in motivation and procrastination, the therapeutic alliance formed was compared and the usability and intentions to use the robot in the future was measured. Due to the importance of eliciting change talk for successful behaviour change, the conversations between therapist and client were analysed for change and sustain talk to compare the effectiveness of the intervention and the mode of delivery (Chapter 6). This thesis also explores the perceptions of health professionals towards the use of social robots in the field of talk-based therapy after interacting with a social robot to support with future robot development and integration. To conclude, the current challenges faced with robot delivery and further research suggestions are made to ensure the future success of social robots as delivery agents for delivering behaviour change interventions.

Awarding Institution(s)

University of Plymouth

Supervisor

Jon May, Jackie Andrade

Document Type

Thesis

Publication Date

2025

Embargo Period

2025-08-07

Deposit Date

August 2025

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License

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