Key summary on the impact of robotic manufacturing on consumer psychology:

• Consumers who are strongly influenced by uniqueness and symbolic value are more likely to prefer human labor rather than a robotic manufacturing

• Various components of products such as love don’t influence consumer psychology and decision-making 

• Although robotic labor may be more efficient, it can’t completely replace human labor because many consumers find great value in uniqueness and symbolic value 

In the movie Blade Runner, robots were created to help society by replicating humans but end up being as equally intelligent as humans. The replicants started to experiment and control human minds. Like many sci-films, this movie is a reflection of the longstanding human fear of a robot takeover. And in 2020, this fear is more present than ever. To what extent can robots replace human labor? 

New research helps to address this question in a way: by examining how robot labor is perceived in the minds of consumers. A 2020 study from Technical University of Munich and Erasmus University in Rotterdam found that although robotic labor may be more efficient, it can’t completely replace human labor. The research, conducted by Armin Gradulo, Christopher Fuchs, and Stefano Puntoni, suggest many consumers find great value in uniqueness and symbolic value. 

Specifically, this study explores the science of Uniqueness Motives. This is the theory that consumers prefer to purchase differentiated and scarce products as a reason that machines can’t completely replace human labor. Handmade products are a great example of the uniqueness motives theory. Handmade products are different and each piece is unique whether it is a piece of art or jewelry.  

Here, we examine a key piece of research from 2020 about consumer psychology is shaped by robotic manufacturing and the appreciation of uniqueness motives.

Methodology: Robotic Manufacturing vs. Human Labor

A 2020 four-fold study explores uniqueness motives in relation to the symbolic value of products and how it may sway a consumer’s preference for human labor. The symbolic value of a product is determined by how much the product aligns with an individual’s belief and personality. An example of high symbolic value in this study was getting a new tattoo that the participant designed. 

The contrasting low symbolic value was the removal of a tattoo. Getting a new tattoo is more symbolic because it reflects an individual’s belief or personality, whereas removing one does not. Another example that was used in this study is the purchasing of glasses. In this example, frames of glasses are considered highly symbolic because the participant can pick one that reflects their personality, whereas lenses do not have the same unique quality. Therefore, they are considered of lower symbolic value.  

Four experiments were conducted to test the hypothesis that consumers prefer human labor with high symbolic value rather than the low symbolic value because of uniqueness motives. Each experiment tested between 201-402 participants in different aspects of this hypothesis: symbolic consumption context, human physical contact with the product, motivation for uniqueness, and components associated with higher symbolic power. 

Here are quick summaries of these four experiments:

Experiment 1: Preference in tattoo creation or removal. They compared high and low symbolic context by using the tattoo example and asking the participants whether they wanted the procedure (creation or removal of tattoo) done by a machine or human. 

Experiment 2. Preference in printing skull posters. They tested human physical contact by asking participants to imagine being a doctor and wanting a printed poster of a skull in their office. Their intention for a poster of a skull in their office determined whether the poster had a high or low symbolic context. Then, two skull posters were presented to them: one designed by a human (produced by a machine) and the other by an algorithm (produced by a human) and asked which they would purchase. 

Experiment 3. Preference in painted posters. They analyzed a consumer’s motivation for uniqueness by asking participants if they preferred the poster painted by a human or drawing created by a robot. 

Experiment 4. Preference in the production of glasses. They analyzed components associated with higher symbolic power with the glasses example. Knowing that the frame cost the same regardless of a human producing it or a robot, they were asked which production procedure they preferred. 

The Results and Implications of Robot vs. Human Labor on Consumer Psychology

Overall, results from these experiments suggest that consumers who are strongly influenced by uniqueness and symbolic value prefer human labor rather than a robot. Results also suggest that the deeper meaning behind the product and what it represented also made a massive difference. People expect products embodying human emotions, such as love, to be produced by human labor and not by machines. 

Business Models Inc., a global business design agency, believes that some jobs can be replaced by humans, but that there will be an equivalent amount of job opportunities created for every one lost to machines. Business Models Inc. stresses that jobs will change because of machines, but there are still aspects of human labor that cannot be replaced. These aspects include reasoning skills, creativity, product uniqueness, and symbolic value. 

These results suggest that consumer psychology is highly sensitive to the source’s of manufacturing. Overall, these findings suggest that as technology advances and automation intensifies, certain manufacturing jobs cannot be completely replaced. These roles may be in the clear because consumers still appreciate the unique value of the human-made product. 

In other words, we don’t have to worry about a Blade Runner takeover quite yet.

Photo by Andrea de Santis via UnSplash

References for Consumer Psychology and The Influence of Robotic v Human Labor

Granulo, Armin & Fuchs, Christoph & Puntoni, Stefano. (2020). Preference for human (vs. robotic) labor is stronger in symbolic consumption contexts. Journal of Consumer Psychology. 10.1002/jcpy.1181. 

Will machines replace humans in the future of work? (2017, October 26). Business Models Inc. https://www.businessmodelsinc.com/machines/ 

Rey, J. D. (2019, December 11). How robots are transforming Amazon warehouse jobs—For better and worse. Vox. https://www.vox.com/recode/2019/12/11/20982652/robots-amazon-warehouse-jobs-automation