•Consumers respond more favorably to human service agents who use literal (vs. figurative) language.•The language style effects extend to service robots, but not to service kiosks based on the notion ...of anthropomorphism.•Perceived credibility is the psychological mechanism explaining the impact of language styles on service encounter satisfaction.•Hospitality managers should encourage frontline employees to use literal (vs. figurative) language when interacting with customers.•Furthermore, firms can enhance service encounter quality by tuning their service robots to use literal language, while flexibility in language styles is fine for service kiosks.
Is figurative or literal language more effective in the service encounter context? The current research reveals that literal language used by a service provider might be more congruent with conversational norms, thus leading to better customer evaluation. Most importantly, the effectiveness of language styles (literal vs. figurative) is contingent on a service agent type (human vs. robot vs. kiosk). Specifically, consumers respond more favorably to human service agents who use literal (vs. figurative) language, and due to the notion of anthropomorphism such an effect extends to service robots. However, the language style effect is not observed among service kiosks as they lack humanlike features. Furthermore, perceived credibility is the underlying mechanism explaining the language style effect among service agents.
The article explores the anthropomorphic metaphors that arise when describing a city and its components. Metaphor is one of the forms of cognition of the essence of a complex object or process. The ...city, as an object of knowledge, can be represented in many ways, one of which is a metaphor. Anthropomorphic metaphors are based on endowing the city with the properties of human morphology, physiology, and psychology. The author aims to identify, structure, and justify the use of anthropomorphic metaphors in various contexts. For this purpose, methods of terminological search and contextual analysis were used, thanks to which terms of urban discourse with anthropomorphic etymology were identified in the field of scientific information. The study established two main contexts of the anthropomorphism of the city: material and physiological and ideological and personal. Examples of metaphors are given and described. The material-physiological context includes metaphors that describe the city as a physical body with various parts and functions. In the ideological and personal context, the city is considered as a person with consciousness, emotions, and values. The author concludes that the use of anthropomorphic metaphors in urban discourse contributes to a better understanding and interpretation of urban processes. However, excessive use of such metaphors can lead to distortion of reality and the creation of false ideas about the city. In general, anthropomorphic metaphors are an important tool for exploring and describing a city, but they should be used with caution, taking the context into account. The use of such metaphors is useful in those communication formats when it is necessary to explain the essence of complex urban phenomena for non-professionals to understand.
In the current era, interacting with Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become an everyday activity. Understanding the interaction between humans and AI is of potential value because, in future, such ...interactions are expected to become more pervasive. Two studies—one survey and one experiment—were conducted to demonstrate positive effects of anthropomorphism on interactions with smart-speaker-based AI assistants and to examine the mediating role of psychological distance in this relationship. The results of Study 1, an online survey, showed that participants with a higher tendency to anthropomorphize their AI assistant/s evaluated it/them more positively, and this effect was mediated by psychological distance. In Study 2, the hypotheses were tested in a more sophisticated experiment. Again, the results indicated that, in the high-anthropomorphism (vs. low-anthropomorphism) condition, participants had more positive attitudes toward the AI assistant, and the effect was mediated by psychological distance. Though several studies have demonstrated the effect of anthropomorphism, few have probed the underlying mechanism of anthropomorphism thoroughly. The current research not only contributes to the anthropomorphism literature, but also provides direction to research on facilitating human–AI interaction.
•Anthropomorphism has a positive effect on the evaluation of AI assistants.•Psychological distance plays a mediating role in this relationship.•Uncanny response does not correlate with anthropomorphism.
•Chatbots are increasingly used as substitutes for human service agents in online shops.•Anthropomorphizing chatbots increases perceived consumer-chatbot similarity.•Matching chatbot gender with ...consumer gender positively impacts consumer behavior.•First insights indicate that non-binary consumers prefer neutral chatbots.
Chatbots are increasingly used as substitutes for human service agents in online shops. This has led researchers to analyze how chatbot characteristics influence consumer responses. However, while the relevance of chatbot characteristics has been examined, to date, consumers’ personalities have remained unattended in the research on this innovative mode of online support. Therefore, this study aims to understand how the interaction of consumer characteristics and chatbot characteristics influences consumer behavior. In doing so, we focus on how chatbots’ visual cues (i.e., anthropomorphization, gender) influence consumer behavior while also considering consumers’ self-concept. To answer the research question, we first conceptually discuss why consumer behavior depends on perceived self-congruence between consumers and a chatbot, which can be reached by anthropomorphizing chatbots and giving them the “right” gender. Subsequently, based on multiple studies, we empirically test the hypotheses considering male, female, and non-binary consumers. Our results demonstrate the relevance of both chatbot anthropomorphization and chatbot gender.
Conversational Agents (CAs) are becoming part of our everyday lives. About 10 percent of users display aggressive behavior toward CAs, such as swearing at them when they produce errors. We conducted ...two online experiments to understand user aggression toward CAs better. In the first experiment, 175 participants used either a humanlike CA or a non-humanlike CA. Both CAs worked without errors, and we observed no increased frustration or user aggression. The second experiment (with 201 participants) was the focus of this study; in it, both CAs produce a series of errors. The results show that frustration with errors drives aggression, and users with higher impulsivity are more likely to become aggressive when frustrated. The results also suggest that there are three pathways by which perceived humanness influences users' aggression to CAs. First, perceived humanness directly increases the frustration with the CA when it produces errors. Second, perceived humanness increases service satisfaction which in turn reduces frustration. Third, perceived humanness influences the nature of aggression when users become frustrated (i.e., users are less likely to use highly offensive words with a more humanlike CA). Our research contributes to our theoretical understanding of the role of anthropomorphism in the interaction with machines, showing that designing a CA to be more humanlike is a double-edged sword-both increasing and decreasing the frustration that leads to aggression-and also a means to reduce the most severe aggression.
Anthropomorphizing chatbots can facilitate effective customer interaction. Based on a mixed method, this study explores perceived chatbot anthropomorphism cues and their effects on customers' chatbot ...usage intentions (UIs)in the online travel agency context. Findings suggest that (1) social presence cues and emotional message cues are major anthropomorphic cues of interest for customers and enterprises; (2) social presence cues by simply using a human avatar or mentioning the customer's name might not be sufficient; (3) anthropomorphic emotional message cues are essential in shaping customers' UIs; and (4) perceived trustworthiness, intelligence, and enjoyment mediate the above effect.
Eliza in the uncanny valley Kim, Seo Young; Schmitt, Bernd H.; Thalmann, Nadia M.
Marketing letters,
03/2019, Letnik:
30, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Consumer robots are predicted to be employed in a variety of customer-facing situations. As these robots are designed to look and behave like humans, consumers attribute human traits to them—a ...phenomenon known as the “Eliza Effect.” In four experiments, we show that the anthropomorphism of a consumer robot increases psychological warmth but decreases attitudes, due to uncanniness. Competence judgments are much less affected and not subject to a decrease in attitudes. The current research contributes to research on artificial intelligence, anthropomorphism, and the uncanny valley phenomenon. We suggest to managers that they need to make sure that the appearances and behaviors of robots are not too human-like to avoid negative attitudes toward robots. Moreover, managers and researchers should collaborate to determine the optimal level of anthropomorphism.
We review a growing body of research in consumer behavior that has examined when consumers humanize brands by perceiving them as like, part of, or in a relationship with themselves. One research ...stream shows that sometimes consumers perceive brands as having human-like forms, minds, and personality characteristics. A second stream identifies ways that a consumer perceives a brand as being congruent with or connected to the self. Finally, a third highlights that consumers can view brands in ways that are analogous to the types of relationships they have with people. We review research in these three areas and point out connections among these research streams. In part, we accomplish this by showing that factors associated with the SEEK model, which are designed to explain anthropomorphic tendencies, are also relevant to other ways of humanizing brands. We identify major propositions derived from this research and several areas for which additional research is needed. We conclude with recommendations for the many opportunities for expanding our conceptual and empirical understanding of this domain.
