Agreeableness of a Virtual Agent: Effects of Reciprocity and Need for Help

Jieun Kim, Young June Sah, Hayeon Song

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

Agreeableness is one of the key personalities expected to a virtual agent as a social interactant, as the agent's primary role is to provide help and assistance. Based on the theoretical background of the Computers-Are-Social-Actors (CASA) paradigm, this study aims to identify factors affecting the perceived agreeableness of virtual agents. Focusing on the reciprocity rule of help and users' need for help, an online experiment was conducted with a 2 (help type: Reciprocal vs. unconditional) x 2 (need for help: Wanted vs. not wanted) between-subjects design. The findings demonstrated that the agent providing unconditional help, compared to the agent that provided reciprocated help, was perceived to be more socially attractive, while marginally significant results were observed in terms of perceived agreeableness. In addition, the recipient's unwanted help damaged users' perception of the agent's agreeableness and social attraction. Both theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationProceedings of the 2021 15th International Conference on Ubiquitous Information Management and Communication, IMCOM 2021
EditorsSukhan Lee, Hyunseung Choo, Roslan Ismail
PublisherInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
ISBN (Electronic)9780738105086
DOIs
StatePublished - 4 Jan 2021
Event15th International Conference on Ubiquitous Information Management and Communication, IMCOM 2021 - Seoul, Korea, Republic of
Duration: 4 Jan 20216 Jan 2021

Publication series

NameProceedings of the 2021 15th International Conference on Ubiquitous Information Management and Communication, IMCOM 2021

Conference

Conference15th International Conference on Ubiquitous Information Management and Communication, IMCOM 2021
Country/TerritoryKorea, Republic of
CitySeoul
Period4/01/216/01/21

Keywords

  • Agent personality
  • CASA
  • Reciprocity norm
  • Social attraction
  • Virtual Agent

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