Social effects of an anthropomorphic help agent: humans versus computers.
The purpose of this study was to examine perceptions of fairness of a computer-administered quiz as a function of the anthropomorphic features of the help agent offered within the quiz environment. The addition of simple anthropomorphic cues to a computer help agent reduced the perceived friendliness of the agent, perceived intelligence of the agent, and the perceived fairness of the quiz. These differences were observed only for male anthropomorphic cues, but not for female anthropomorphic cues. The results were not explained by the social attraction of the anthropomorphic agents used in the quiz or by gender identification with the agents. Priming of visual cues provides the best account of the data. Practical implications of the study are discussed.
David
Prabu
P
School of Communication, The Ohio State University, 3016 Derby Hall, 154 North Oval Mall, Columbus, OH 43210, USA. david.15@osu.edu
Lu
Tingting
T
Kline
Susan
S
Cai
Li
L
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001290:Attitude; D003201:Computers; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007360:Intelligence; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D012919:Social Behavior