When a Talking-Face Computer Agent is Half-Human and Half-Humanoid

Human Identity and Consistency Preference

Bibliographic Data

ID2270035
AuthorsLi Gong (0000-0001-7135-009X, The Ohio State University), Clifford (0000-0002-9401-7481), Clifford Nass (Stanford University)
Year2007
Volume33
Issue2
Pages163-193
Publication date2007-04-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueHuman Communication Research (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0360-3989 • E-ISSN: 1468-2958
PublisherOxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1111/j.1468-2958.2007.00295.x
OpenAlexW2001429584
LanguageEN
Citations received41
References cited57

Computer-generated anthropomorphic characters are a growing type of communicator that is deployed in digital communication environments. An essential theoretical question is how people identify humanlike but clearly artificial, hence humanoid, entities in comparison to natural human ones. This identity categorization inquiry was approached under the framework of consistency and tested through examining inconsistency effects from mismatching categories. Study 1 (N = 80), incorporating a self-disclosure task, tested participants’ responses to a talking-face agent, which varied in four combinations of human versus humanoid faces and voices. In line with the literature on inconsistency, the pairing of a human face with a humanoid voice or a humanoid face with a human voice led to longer processing time in making judgment of the agent and less trust than the pairing of a face and a voice from either the human or the humanoid category. Female users particularly showed negative attitudes toward inconsistently paired talking faces. Study 2 (N = 80), using a task that stressed comprehension demand, replicated the inconsistency effects on judging time and females’ negative attitudes but not for comprehension-related outcomes. Voice clarity overshadowed the consistency concern for comprehension-related responses. The overall inconsistency effects suggest that people treat humanoid entities in a different category from natural human ones

Aesthetics · Art · Consistency (knowledge bases · Face (sociological concept · Identity (music · Preference · Social science · Sociology · Statistics · Computer Science · Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior · Psychology · Social and Intergroup Psychology · Social Psychology · Social Robot Interaction and HRI · Artificial Intelligence

Tools

Open DOISci-Hub