{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,13]],"date-time":"2026-10-13T17:06:36Z","timestamp":1791911196554,"version":"4.3.4"},"reference-count":76,"publisher":"American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)","issue":"106","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,10]],"date-time":"2026-09-10T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1788998400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":365,"URL":"https:\/\/www.science.org\/content\/page\/science-licenses-journal-article-reuse"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.science.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Sci. Robot."],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,10]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>\n            Reading fluency is a vital building block for developing literacy, yet the best way to practice fluency\u2014reading aloud\u2014can cause anxiety severe enough to inhibit literacy development in ways that can have an adverse effect on students through adulthood. One promising intervention to mitigate oral reading anxiety is to have children read aloud to a robot. Although observations in prior work have suggested that people likely feel more comfortable in the presence of a robot instead of a human, few studies have empirically demonstrated that people feel less anxious performing in front of a robot compared with a human or used objective physiological indicators to identify decreased anxiety. To investigate whether a robotic reading companion could reduce reading anxiety felt by children, we conducted a within-subjects study where children aged 8 to 11 years (\n            <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">n<\/jats:italic>\n            \u00a0=\u00a052) read aloud to a human and a robot individually while being monitored for physiological responses associated with anxiety. We found that children exhibited fewer physiological indicators of anxiety, specifically vocal jitter and heart rate variability, when reading to the robot compared with reading to a person. This paper provides strong evidence that a robot\u2019s presence has an effect on the anxiety a person experiences while doing a task, offering justification for the use of robots in a wide-reaching array of social interactions that may be anxiety inducing.\n          <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1126\/scirobotics.adu5771","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,10]],"date-time":"2025-09-10T17:58:13Z","timestamp":1757527093000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.34133\/aaas_crossmark","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["Robotic reading companions can mitigate oral reading anxiety in children"],"prefix":"10.1126","volume":"10","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0002-3659-2530","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Lauren L.","family":"Wright","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0007-4249-6103","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Pooja","family":"Vegesna","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3793-3659","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Joseph E.","family":"Michaelis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, IL 60607, USA."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9456-1495","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Bilge","family":"Mutlu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2211-6429","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Sarah","family":"Sebo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"221","reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_2_2_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"S. P. Katiyar \u201cAdult illiteracy: A global social problem\u201d in The Palgrave Handbook of Global Social Problems R. Baikady S. M. Sajid J. Przeperski V. Nadesan M. Rezaul Islam J. Gao Eds. (Palgrave Macmillan 2021) pp. 1\u201320.","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-030-68127-2_160-1"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_3_2","unstructured":"J. Rothwell \u201cAssessing the economic gains of eradicating illiteracy nationally and regionally in the United States\u201d (Gallup Inc. 2020) pp. 3\u20139; www.barbarabush.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/BBFoundation_GainsFromEradicatingIlliteracy_9_8.pdf."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_4_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41539-023-00205-7"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_5_2","unstructured":"Amplify \u201cAmid academic recovery in classrooms nationwide risks remain for youngest students with least instructional time during critical early years\u201d (2020); https:\/\/amplify.com\/pdf\/uploads\/2022\/02\/mCLASS_MOY-Results_February-2022-Report.pdf."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_6_2","unstructured":"S. B. Zakariya \u201cLearning to read reading to learn: Why third-grade is a pivotal year for mastering literacy\u201d (Center for Public Education 2015) pp. 1\u201315; https:\/\/cdn-files.nsba.org\/s3fs-public\/reports\/NSBA_CPE_Early_Literacy_Layout_2015.pdf."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_7_2","article-title":"Impact of short-term intense fluency instruction on students\u2019 reading achievement: A classroom-based, teacher-initiated research study","volume":"3","author":"DiSalle K.","year":"2017","unstructured":"K. DiSalle, T. Rasinski, Impact of short-term intense fluency instruction on students\u2019 reading achievement: A classroom-based, teacher-initiated research study. J. Teach. Action Res. 3, 1\u201313 (2017).","journal-title":"J. Teach. Action Res."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_8_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1037\/a0019643"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_9_2","first-page":"403","article-title":"The method of repeated readings","volume":"32","author":"Samuels S. J.","year":"1979","unstructured":"S. J. Samuels, The method of repeated readings. Read. Teach. 32, 403\u2013408 (1979).","journal-title":"Read. Teach."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_10_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/0010-0285(74)90015-2"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_11_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/15248372.2018.1526175"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_12_2","first-page":"1","article-title":"Anxiety and oral competence: Classroom dilemma","volume":"65","author":"Phillips E. M.","year":"1991","unstructured":"E. M. Phillips, Anxiety and oral competence: Classroom dilemma. Fr. Rev. 65, 1\u201314 (1991).","journal-title":"Fr. Rev."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_13_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/bjep.12324"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_14_2","first-page":"2","article-title":"The effect of anxiety on the measurement of reading fluency and comprehension","volume":"8","author":"Tysinger J. A.","year":"2010","unstructured":"J. A. Tysinger, P. D. Tysinger, T. D. Diamanduros, The effect of anxiety on the measurement of reading fluency and comprehension. Educ. Res. 8, 2 (2010).","journal-title":"Educ. Res."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_15_2","first-page":"12","article-title":"Test and performance anxiety","volume":"10","author":"Huberty T. J.","year":"2009","unstructured":"T. J. Huberty, Test and performance anxiety. Prin. Lead. 10, 12\u201316 (2009).","journal-title":"Prin. Lead."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_16_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2307\/3345040"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_17_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/0301-0511(92)90005-F"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_18_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/0005-7967(84)90007-X"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_19_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2307\/3345541"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_20_2","unstructured":"R. N. Bogatay \u201cReading to dolls: Impacts on self-efficacy and oral reading fluency \u201d thesis Chicago School of Professional Psychology Chicago IL (2022)."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_21_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0149759"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_22_2","unstructured":"C. Brown \u201cThe impact of having second grade students record a text read out loud in relation to their fluency skills \u201d thesis University of Wisconsin\u2013La Crosse La Crosse WI (2020)."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_23_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1126\/scirobotics.aat5999"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_24_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/bjet.13016"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_25_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.chb.2024.108229"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_26_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijhcs.2015.01.001"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_27_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1561\/2300000056"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_28_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"J. M. Kraus F. Nothdurft P. Hock D. Scholz W. Minker M. Baumann \u201cHuman after all: Effects of mere presence and social interaction of a humanoid robot as a co-driver in automated driving\u201d in AutomativeUI '16 Adjunct: Adjunct Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Automotive User Interfaces and Interactive Vehicular Applications (Association for Computing Machinery 2016) pp. 129\u2013134.","DOI":"10.1145\/3004323.3004338"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_29_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"W. A. Bainbridge J. Hart E. S. Kim B. Scassellati \u201cThe effect of presence on human-robot interaction\u201d in RO-MAN 2008-The 17th IEEE International Symposium on Robot and Human Interactive Communication (IEEE 2008) pp. 701\u2013706.","DOI":"10.1109\/ROMAN.2008.4600749"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_30_2","first-page":"1882","article-title":"The physical presence of a robot tutor increases cognitive learning gains","volume":"34","author":"Leyzberg D.","year":"2012","unstructured":"D. Leyzberg, S. Spaulding, M. Toneva, B. Scassellati, The physical presence of a robot tutor increases cognitive learning gains. Proc. Annu. Meeting Cogn. Sci. Soc. 34, 1882\u20131887 (2012).","journal-title":"Proc. Annu. Meeting Cogn. Sci. Soc."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_31_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.chb.2015.04.005"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_32_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s12369-014-0277-4"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_33_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"T.-H. Lin S. Ng S. Sebo \u201cBenefits of an interactive robot character in immersive puzzle games\u201d in 2022 31st IEEE International Conference on Robot and Human Interactive Communication (RO-MAN) (IEEE 2022) pp. 37\u201344.","DOI":"10.1109\/RO-MAN53752.2022.9900828"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_34_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/3283453"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_35_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/nur.4770150507"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_36_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2017.00258"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_37_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/415035a"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_38_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1037\/h0088938"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_39_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/01490408109512958"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_40_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"K. Charmaz L. L. Belgrave \u201cQualitative interviewing and grounded theory analysis\u201d in The SAGE Handbook of Interview Research: The Complexity of the Craft J. F. Gubrium J. A. Holstein A. B. Marvasti K. D. McKinney Eds. (Sage Publications ed. 2 2012) pp. 347\u2013366.","DOI":"10.4135\/9781452218403.n25"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_41_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S0193-953X(18)30504-5"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_42_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neubiorev.2011.11.009"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_43_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1161\/01.CIR.84.2.482"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_44_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2014.01040"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_45_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.30773\/pi.2017.08.17"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_46_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"B. Vaishali D. Vagish V. Sricharan S. Preejith M. Sivaprakasam \u201cStatistical analysis of mental stress during oral presentation\u201d in 2021 IEEE International Symposium on Medical Measurements and Applications (MeMeA) (IEEE 2021) pp. 1\u20136.","DOI":"10.1109\/MeMeA52024.2021.9478721"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_47_2","first-page":"25","article-title":"Heart rate variability: An objective measure of mental stress in surgical simulation","volume":"3","author":"Farah E.","year":"2024","unstructured":"E. Farah, A. Desir, C. Marques, S. R. Hegde, A. Abreu, P. M. Polanco, C. Holcomb, D. J. Scott, G. Sankaranarayanan, Heart rate variability: An objective measure of mental stress in surgical simulation. J. Surg. Educ. 3, 25 (2024).","journal-title":"J. Surg. Educ."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_48_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cpr.2016.04.013"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_49_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.biopsycho.2013.08.005"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_50_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.biopsycho.2016.01.015"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_51_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s00787-013-0405-y"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_52_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/psyp.12243"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_53_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1088\/0967-3334\/30\/4\/N01"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_54_2","unstructured":"C. A. O\u2019Muircheartaigh J. A. Krosnick A. Helic Middle Alternatives Acquiescence and the Quality of Questionnaire Data (Irving B. Harris Graduate School of Public Policy Studies 2001)."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_55_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s11135-011-9640-9"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_56_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/0146167203259930"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_57_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/1744987107079616"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_58_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijpsycho.2014.07.015"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_59_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1152\/japplphysiol.00517.2016"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_60_2","first-page":"440","article-title":"The effect of using repeated reading strategy on students\u2019 faulty pronunciation","volume":"13","author":"Khalil I.","year":"2021","unstructured":"I. Khalil, The effect of using repeated reading strategy on students\u2019 faulty pronunciation. J. Al-Farahidi. Arts. 13, 440\u2013448 (2021).","journal-title":"J. Al-Farahidi. Arts."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_61_2","unstructured":"Misty Robotics www.mistyrobotics.com\/."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_62_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1134\/S0005117920100082"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_63_2","unstructured":"V. Levenshtein Binary codes capable of correcting deletions insertions and reversals. Sov. Phys. Dokl. 10 707\u2013710 (1966)."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_64_2","unstructured":"P. Boersma D. Weemink Praat: Doing phonetics by computer (2007); www.praat.org\/."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_65_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.wocn.2018.07.001"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_66_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3109\/01460868709009015"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_67_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"N. Isnaini T. Yunitasari \u201cFactors affecting anxiety level before examination electrocardiogram (ECG) in heart clinic\u201d in International Conference on Sustainable Innovation on Health Sciences and Nursing (ICOSI-HSN 2022) (Atlantis Press 2022) pp. 239\u2013247.","DOI":"10.2991\/978-94-6463-070-1_29"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_68_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s002469900178"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_69_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s10286-007-0411-6"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_70_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41598-025-89712-8"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_71_2","first-page":"787","article-title":"Quality of life in adolescents with inflammatory bowel disease and their parents--Comparison with healthy controls","volume":"36","author":"Jelenova D.","year":"2015","unstructured":"D. Jelenova, M. Ociskova, J. Prasko, M. Hunkova, E. Karaskova, J. Kolarova, D. Vydra, V. Mihal, Quality of life in adolescents with inflammatory bowel disease and their parents--Comparison with healthy controls. Neuroendocrinol. Lett. 36, 787\u2013792 (2015).","journal-title":"Neuroendocrinol. Lett."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_72_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jpeds.2018.11.054"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_73_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1109\/TAU.1967.1161901"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_74_2","first-page":"10","article-title":"Converting video formats with ffmpeg","volume":"2006","author":"Tomar S.","year":"2006","unstructured":"S. Tomar, Converting video formats with ffmpeg. Linux J. 2006, 10 (2006).","journal-title":"Linux J."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_75_2","unstructured":"G. Jocher A. Chaurasia A. Stoken J. Borovec Y. Kwon K. Michael J. Fang Z. Yifu C. Wong D. Montes Z. Wang C. Fati J. Nadar Laughing UnglvKitDe V. Sonck tkianai yxNONG P. Skalski A. Hogan D. Nair M. Strobel M. Jain ultralytics\/yolov5: v7. 0-yolov5 sota realtime instance segmentation version 7.0 (Zenodo 2022); https:\/\/zenodo.org\/records\/7347926."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_76_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s11263-006-6106-y"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_77_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"V. Braun V. Clarke Thematic Analysis: A Practical Guide (SAGE Publications 2022).","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-319-69909-7_3470-2"}],"container-title":["Science Robotics"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.science.org\/doi\/pdf\/10.1126\/scirobotics.adu5771","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"syndication"},{"URL":"https:\/\/www.science.org\/doi\/pdf\/10.1126\/scirobotics.adu5771","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,10]],"date-time":"2025-09-10T17:58:18Z","timestamp":1757527098000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.science.org\/doi\/10.1126\/scirobotics.adu5771"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,10]]},"references-count":76,"journal-issue":{"issue":"106","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,10]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1126\/scirobotics.adu5771"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1126\/scirobotics.adu5771","relation":{},"ISSN":["2470-9476"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2470-9476","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,10]]},"assertion":[{"value":"2024-11-15","order":0,"name":"received","label":"Received","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}},{"value":"2025-08-19","order":2,"name":"accepted","label":"Accepted","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}},{"value":"2025-09-10","order":3,"name":"published","label":"Published","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}}],"article-number":"eadu5771"}}