Fig. 4

The figure depicts a flowchart representing the various phases of the role-playing game carried out by the child and the robot. On the left (A), an example of the phase where the child is asked to respond to a behavioral request, which is executed by the robot and repeated if the child fails to respond; if successful, the robot reinforces the response with positive feedback (i.e. the robot raises its arms and hands in a gesture of victory, reinforcing the child with verbal prompts such as ‘let’s keep it up’ or ‘you’re doing great’). On the right (B), an example of the phase where the child is asked to perform a behavioral response, which may be prompted by the robot. If the child immediately complies with the request, the trial proceeds and the robot promptly responds, otherwise, the prompt to execute the request is given a second time.