Perceiving a Mind in a Chatbot: Effect of Mind Perception and Social Cues on Co-presence, Closeness, and Intention to Use

ABSTRACT

A chatbot equipped with a conversational user interface often allows its users to feel as if they are conversing with a human being. The current study examined whether users’ perception of a mind within a chatbot is associated with their feeling of co-presence, closeness, and intention to use and whether the influence of mind perception is reinforced when the chatbot presents social cues in its language. A laboratory experiment (N = 64) revealed that the more participants perceived a mind behind a chatbot, the more co-presence and interpersonal closeness they experienced with the chatbot. The associations with co-presence and closeness became stronger when the chatbot used social cues. Furthermore, mind perception had an indirect effect on intention to use via closeness when social cues were presented. These findings imply the importance of mind perception and social cues in a chatbot’s language in creating a positive chatbot experience.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government(MSIP; Ministry of Science, ICT & Future Planning) (NRF-2017R1C 1B 1003650) and also supported by the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea and the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF-2019S1A5A8035093).

Notes on contributors

Sangwon Lee

Sangwon Lee is an associate professor in the Department of Interaction Science, Sungkyunkwan University. He has obtained his PhD degree in Industrial Engineering at the Pennsylvania State University in 2010. His research interests include human-computer interaction, user experience, affective computing, and user modeling.

Naeun Lee

Naeun Lee is a Master's degree graduate of Sungkyunkwan University, Department of Interaction Science. Her research interests include human-computer interaction, user experience, and computer-mediated communication.

Young June Sah

Young June Sah (PhD, Michigan State University) is an adjunct professor in the Department of Interaction Science, Sungkyunkwan University. His research interests include psychological and behavioral effects of media technologies and their cognitive mechanisms.