# We Do Not Anthropomorphize a Robot Based Only on Its Cover: Context Matters too!
## 4 Anthropomorphizing Factors: Robotic Factors Are Not Enough
### Human Factors Also Depend on the Users Themselves, Not Just the Robots
#### 4.3.2 Same Gender Robot Promotes Acceptance in Children, but Not Anthropomorphism  
On the question of the impact of the user's gender on the acceptance of robots, the results are not clear-cut, which could be due to differences in measurements. In children, at the behavioral level, girls interact longer with an abstract robot than boys do [104] but boys show a higher level of interaction (which includes gaze time, emotional expression, and dependence toward the experimenter) with an iconic robot than girls [190]. At the intentional level, when children interact with an abstract robot, no difference is observed in the child's gender on acceptance [173; 197], whereas girls report more physical and social attraction to human-like robots than boys [197]. This could suggest that children would behave with the robot and perceive it differently according to their gender only when the robot has a human-like appearance. In adults, a feminine iconic host robot (OLIVIA) taking on the role of a receptionist is generally given higher ratings on a Likert scale on the quality of the interaction by male participants compared to female participants [112]. Behavioral differences linked to gender also exist in human-human interactions. In children, girls engage longer in interaction than boys, and boys initiate more episodes of interaction than girls [203]. In adults, men are more active in interaction than women (they talk more and give their opinion more), while women show more positive social behavior (friendly behavior, approval) [204]. Thus, it is possible that humans simply reapply the same model of social interactions with robots that they already use with humans. The user's acceptance of the robot also varies depending on whether the robot's gender is the same as their own or not. At the intentional level, boys are more likely than girls to prefer an iconic robot (NAO) of the same gender, but at the behavioral level, such a difference does not seem to be present: children smile more with a female robot than with a male one, irrespective of the gender [193]. Yet, another study shows no effect of gender congruity on intentional acceptance [191]. These contradictory results can perhaps be explained by the experimental design of both studies. The first study [193] varied the voice and the name of the robot to give it its gender and then asked children about their explicit preferences regarding the robot's gender. In the second study [191], they only changed the name of the robot to indicate its gender and asked to rate indirect affirmations regarding the child's preferences, such as \"I would like to take [PERSON]/[PERSON] (the possible names of the robot) home with me\". It is possible that the impact of gender could vary with age. At 5-8 y.o., children prefer a robot of the same gender as themselves, while at 9-12 y.o. they report no particular preference [193]. These results are observed at the _behavioral_ level: Young children placed in a situation of interaction with a robot of the same gender will play significantly longer [192] and smile more [193]; and at the _intentional_ level: young children say they prefer a robot of the same gender as themselves [193]. In adults, a study shows that a robot of the opposite gender is judged more trustworthy, credible, and engaging than a robot of the same gender as the user [195]. A similar effect (same-gender preference) can be observed in cooperation tasks: Male participants complete tasks faster with robots of the same gender while female participants do not [189]. This pattern of same-gender preference is also observed in human-human interactions in children (see [205] for review) and in adults (see [206] for review) and is called gender segregation. The user's gender would also modulate anthropomorphism, in adults but not in children. Indeed, a study shows that boys and girls anthropomorphize a non-gendered robot in the same way [207]. In [191], no difference is observed between the anthropomorphization of robots of the same gender compared to robots of the opposite gender.