AUTHOR=Ghiglino Davide , Floris Federica , De Tommaso Davide , Wykowska Agnieszka 

TITLE=Sally and… Cozmo? Training theory of mind using a toy robot: a pilot study

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychology

VOLUME=Volume 16 - 2025

YEAR=2025

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1620345

DOI=10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1620345

ISSN=1664-1078

ABSTRACT=IntroductionChildren with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often show impairments in Theory of Mind (ToM). This pilot study examined whether a commercially available toy robot (Cozmo) could support false-belief training within an Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) framework.MethodsFourteen children with ASD completed a two-period crossover design comparing robot-assisted training with standard therapy. Sessions used adapted false-belief tasks (Deceptive Box, Sally-Anne) delivered through therapist-controlled interactions with Cozmo. ToM and emotion recognition were assessed with NEPSY-II at T0, T1, and T2.ResultsRobot-assisted sessions produced greater improvements than standard therapy alone on both NEPSY-II Emotion Recognition and ToM subscales, as confirmed by mixed-effects models.DiscussionFindings suggest that an affordable toy-like robot can be feasibly integrated into structured clinical interventions and may enhance ToM-related outcomes in children with ASD, warranting further evaluation in larger samples.