The Influence of anthropomorphism on trust in artificial intelligence: Take virtual agent as an example

IF 5.1 2区计算机科学 Q1 COMPUTER SCIENCE, CYBERNETICS

International Journal of Human-Computer Studies Pub Date : 2025-09-19 DOI:10.1016/j.ijhcs.2025.103644

Xiaohan Shi , Gengfeng Niu , Siyu Jin , Wencheng Yang , Xiaojun Sun

{"title":"The Influence of anthropomorphism on trust in artificial intelligence: Take virtual agent as an example","authors":"Xiaohan Shi , Gengfeng Niu , Siyu Jin , Wencheng Yang , Xiaojun Sun","doi":"10.1016/j.ijhcs.2025.103644","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Nowadays, artificial intelligence (AI) and its applications (represented by virtual agents) are gaining increasing popularity in people's daily lives; and trust in them plays a crucial role in influencing the acceptance and usage of AI. Anthropomorphism is a fundamental element in studying human-machine trust. However, the findings regarding the impact on trust in AI are inconsistent, and the underlying mechanism remains unclear. To address these gaps, three studies were conducted to examine the influence of behavioral anthropomorphism (manipulated by emoticons use) on the trust in virtual agents, as well as the potential moderating and mediating mechanisms. The results revealed that behavioral anthropomorphism positively affected trust in AI. More importantly, this study identified the boundary conditions (the moderating effect of attitudes towards AI) and internal mechanisms (the mediating roles of warmth and competence). It is worth noting that excessive anthropomorphism (behavioral anthropomorphism and appearance anthropomorphism exist at the same time) may cause the uncanny valley effect, thereby damaging trust in AI. Additionally, it was found that the positive effect of anthropomorphism on AI trust is more prominent among individuals who hold negative attitudes towards AI. Overall, the study offered theoretical foundations and practical guidelines for effective AI-human interaction and trust-building strategies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54955,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Human-Computer Studies","volume":"205 ","pages":"Article 103644"},"PeriodicalIF":5.1000,"publicationDate":"2025-09-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"International Journal of Human-Computer Studies","FirstCategoryId":"94","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1071581925002010","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"COMPUTER SCIENCE, CYBERNETICS","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

Nowadays, artificial intelligence (AI) and its applications (represented by virtual agents) are gaining increasing popularity in people's daily lives; and trust in them plays a crucial role in influencing the acceptance and usage of AI. Anthropomorphism is a fundamental element in studying human-machine trust. However, the findings regarding the impact on trust in AI are inconsistent, and the underlying mechanism remains unclear. To address these gaps, three studies were conducted to examine the influence of behavioral anthropomorphism (manipulated by emoticons use) on the trust in virtual agents, as well as the potential moderating and mediating mechanisms. The results revealed that behavioral anthropomorphism positively affected trust in AI. More importantly, this study identified the boundary conditions (the moderating effect of attitudes towards AI) and internal mechanisms (the mediating roles of warmth and competence). It is worth noting that excessive anthropomorphism (behavioral anthropomorphism and appearance anthropomorphism exist at the same time) may cause the uncanny valley effect, thereby damaging trust in AI. Additionally, it was found that the positive effect of anthropomorphism on AI trust is more prominent among individuals who hold negative attitudes towards AI. Overall, the study offered theoretical foundations and practical guidelines for effective AI-human interaction and trust-building strategies.

查看原文本刊更多论文

人工智能中拟人化对信任的影响——以虚拟agent为例

如今，人工智能（AI）及其应用（以虚拟代理为代表）在人们的日常生活中越来越普及；对他们的信任在影响人工智能的接受和使用方面起着至关重要的作用。拟人化是研究人机信任的基本要素。然而，关于人工智能对信任的影响的研究结果并不一致，其潜在机制尚不清楚。为了解决这些空白，本研究进行了三项研究，以检验行为拟人化（由表情符号的使用操纵）对虚拟代理信任的影响，以及潜在的调节和中介机制。结果显示，行为拟人化正向影响对人工智能的信任。更重要的是，本研究确定了边界条件（对人工智能态度的调节作用）和内部机制（热情和能力的中介作用）。值得注意的是，过度的拟人化（行为拟人化和外表拟人化同时存在）可能会造成恐怖谷效应，从而损害对AI的信任。此外，我们发现拟人化对人工智能信任的积极影响在对人工智能持消极态度的个体中更为突出。总体而言，该研究为有效的人工智能-人类互动和信任建立策略提供了理论基础和实践指导。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

International Journal of Human-Computer Studies 工程技术-计算机：控制论

CiteScore

11.50

自引率

5.60%

发文量

108

审稿时长

3 months

期刊介绍： The International Journal of Human-Computer Studies publishes original research over the whole spectrum of work relevant to the theory and practice of innovative interactive systems. The journal is inherently interdisciplinary, covering research in computing, artificial intelligence, psychology, linguistics, communication, design, engineering, and social organization, which is relevant to the design, analysis, evaluation and application of innovative interactive systems. Papers at the boundaries of these disciplines are especially welcome, as it is our view that interdisciplinary approaches are needed for producing theoretical insights in this complex area and for effective deployment of innovative technologies in concrete user communities. Research areas relevant to the journal include, but are not limited to: • Innovative interaction techniques • Multimodal interaction • Speech interaction • Graphic interaction • Natural language interaction • Interaction in mobile and embedded systems • Interface design and evaluation methodologies • Design and evaluation of innovative interactive systems • User interface prototyping and management systems • Ubiquitous computing • Wearable computers • Pervasive computing • Affective computing • Empirical studies of user behaviour • Empirical studies of programming and software engineering • Computer supported cooperative work • Computer mediated communication • Virtual reality • Mixed and augmented Reality • Intelligent user interfaces • Presence ...