{"ID":6267802,"CreatedAt":"2026-07-10T01:11:38.759438437Z","UpdatedAt":"2026-07-11T23:58:06.466926049Z","DeletedAt":null,"paper_url":"https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.07998","arxiv_id":"2607.07998","title":"Factors Influencing Conversational Engagement in Robot-Delivered Individual Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (iCST) for Dementia in Home Settings","abstract":"Social robots offer a promising means of supporting cognitive therapies for dementia care by guiding structured conversation and therapeutic activities. However, little is known about the conversational dynamics that emerge during robot-delivered cognitive stimulation therapy (CST) sessions. This study analysed the interaction patterns from robot-delivered individual CST (iCST) sessions conducted with people living with dementia in home settings. Our Co-STAR (Cognitive Stimulation Therapy by an Autonomous Robot) system was deployed in the homes of eight PwDs for one week, who completed 30-minute sessions. Conversational metrics, including words per turn, speech production rate, response duration, response latency, and self-referential language, were analysed to examine how conversational engagement is shaped by prompt personalisation, interaction phase, and participant characteristics. The findings highlight three key interactional properties of robot-delivered iCST. First, personalised prompts significantly increase response duration, self-referential language, and overall engagement compared to generic prompts. Second, conversational behaviour changes within sessions, with a reduction in the verbal output and autobiographical engagement observed during later interaction phases, which suggests cognitive fatigue. Third, first-session conversational metrics were associated with long-term participation, while living situation influenced conversational engagement patterns. These findings provide empirical insights into the factors that shape conversational engagement in robot-delivered iCST. They inform the design of adaptive conversational robots for dementia therapy.","short_abstract":"Social robots offer a promising means of supporting cognitive therapies for dementia care by guiding structured conversation and therapeutic activities. However, little is known about the conversational dynamics that emerge during robot-delivered cognitive stimulation therapy (CST) sessions. This study analysed the int...","url_abs":"https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.07998","url_pdf":"https://arxiv.org/pdf/2607.07998v1","authors":"[\"Emmanuel Akinrintoyo\",\"Nicole Salomons\"]","published":"2026-07-09T00:04:35Z","proceeding":"cs.RO","tasks":"[\"cs.RO\"]","methods":"[]","has_code":false}