Trust is a very popular concept in human-robot interaction (HRI) to explain why and how people interact with robots. However, the definition of trust and the methods used to study the concept vary widely, often leading to confusion instead of insight. In this position paper, we discuss possible reasons for the confusion and disagreement by reviewing theory and methods. Our main criticism is that HRI researchers have recently taken an oversimplified approach by not adhering to the process model of trust. Instead, we have primarily measured perceived trustworthiness (often as a proxy for trust) and assumed that it accurately predicts behavior or is satisfactory as an end goal. In addition, many experimental paradigms fail to account for the critical elements of risk and vulnerability that are essential for trust to guide behavior. With this position paper, we aim to shed light on these ”trust issues” in HRI and to improve the HRI community’s approach by providing suggestions for enhancing the quality of future research.
Onnasch et al. (2025) studied this question.