Who Needs Emotions? The Brain Meets the Robot

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(Izard, 1997). It is in this sense that disgust is incorporated into Kismet’s
emotive repertoire. Kismet’s disgust response signals rejection of an unwanted
stimulus.
Fear
The unique function of fear is to motivate avoidance or escape from a dangerous
situation. For Kismet, the fear response protects it from possible harm
when faced with a threatening stimulus that could cause damage (e.g., large
stimuli moving fast and close to the robot’s face). Kismet’s fearful expression
is a communicative cue that signals to a person that he or she should
back off a bit (Breazeal & Scassellati, 2000). If they persist, the robot will
evoke a protective escape response (e.g., close its eyes and turn its head away
from the offending stimulus).
Joy
The emotion of joy is believed to heighten openness to experience. It often
arises upon the success of achieving a goal or the pleasure of mastery, exhibited
even by very young children (Meltzoff & Moore, 1997). In humans,
openness in social situations contributes to affiliative behavior and the
strengthening of social bonds (see also Chapter 9, Arkin). The expression
of joy operates as a universally recognizable signal of readiness for friendly
interaction. For Kismet, it serves a social function, to encourage people to
interact with it. It also arises when the robot has achieved a pursued goal,
accompanied by a reallocation of cognitive/behavioral resources to the next
relevant task.
Sorrow
Izard and Ackerman (2000) argues that sadness is unique in its capacity to
slow the cognitive and motor systems. Tomkins (1963) suggests that slowing
down enables one to reflect upon a disappointing performance and gain
a new perspective that will help improve future performance. Sadness can
also strengthen social bonds. The expression of sorrow communicates to
others that one is in trouble and increases the likelihood that the others
will feel sympathy and lend assistance (Moore, Underwood, & Rosenhan,
1984). Similarly, Kismet’s expression of sorrow serves a communicative
function that encourages people to pay attention to it and to try to cheer