104 research outputs found

    The Beauty Dilemma

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    Technology as a Social Companion? An Exploration of Individual and Product-Related Factors of Anthropomorphism

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    From chatbots that simulate human conversation to cleaning robots with anthropomorphic appearance, humanlike designed technologies become increasingly present in our society. A growing strand of research focuses on psychological factors and motivations influencing anthropomorphism, that is, the attribution of human characteristics to non-human agents and objects. For example, studies have shown that feeling lonely can come along with attributing anthropomorphic qualities to objects;others imply that anthropomorphism might influence individuals' social needs in return. Such an interrelation could have great societal impact, if, for example, interacting with humanlike technology would reduce the need for interpersonal interaction. Yet, the interrelation between anthropomorphism and social needs has not been studied systematically and individual as well as situational preconditions of anthropomorphism have not been specified. The present research investigates the interrelation between anthropomorphism and social needs on the example of interacting with a smartphone and highlights possible preconditions by means of two experimental studies using a 2 x 2-between-subjects-design, varying social exclusion and anthropomorphism. Our first study (N = 159) showed an overall positive correlation between the willingness to socialize and perceived anthropomorphism. Our second study (N = 236) highlighted that this relationship is especially pronounced for individuals with a high tendency to anthropomorphize, given that the product supports a humanlike perception through its appearance and design cues. In sum, results support an interrelation between social needs and anthropomorphism but also stress individual and contextual strengthening factors. Limitations, theoretical, and practical implications are discussed

    Forecasting Transitions in Digital Society: From Social Norms to AI Applications

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    The use of AI and digitalization in many areas of everyday life holds great potential but also introduces significant societal transitions. This paper takes a closer look at three exemplary areas of central social and psychological relevance that might serve as a basis for forecasting transitions in the digital society: (1) social norms in the context of digital systems; (2) surveillance and social scoring; and (3) artificial intelligence as a decision-making aid or decision-making authority. For each of these areas, we highlight current trends and developments and then present future scenarios that illustrate possible societal transitions, related questions to be answered, and how such predictions might inform responsible technology design

    The Selfie Paradox: Nobody Seems to Like Them Yet Everyone Has Reasons to Take Them

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    Selfies appear as a double-edged phenomenon. Taking, posting, and viewing selfies has become a daily habit for many. At the same time, research revealed that selfies often evoke criticism and disrespect, and are associated with non-authenticity and narcissism. The present study (N = 238) sheds further light on the somewhat contradictory phenomenon of selfies and their psychological value. In addition to previous studies on selfies and personality traits, the present research explores relations to popular, habitual self-presentation strategies, self-reflections on own and others selfie-taking behavior, selfie-related affect, and perceived consequences of selfies, by applying a combination of self-constructed and existing scales e.g., habitual self-presentation scales (Merzbacher, 2007), Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (Watson et al., 1988)]. Our findings confirmed habitual self-presentation strategies as a relevant factor for understanding selfies: Participants scoring high on self-promotion (promoting ones strength and abilities) and self-disclosure (revealing ones feelings for earning sympathy) felt especially positive while takings selfies, whereas understatement was correlated with negative feelings. Nevertheless, self-presentational motives were rather attributed to others selfies than to own selfies. Moreover, others were assumed to have more fun and positive feelings while taking selfies whereas own selfies were judged as more authentic and self-ironic. Altogether, participants expressed a distanced attitude toward selfies, with stronger agreement for potential negative consequences (threats to self-esteem, illusionary world) than for positive consequences (e.g., relatedness, independence), and a clear preference (82%) for viewing more usual pictures instead of selfies in social media. The revealed selfie-bias, i.e., the systematic discrepancy between judgments on own versus others selfies, and the reported critical attitude toward selfies allows multiple interpretations. Taking peoples statements literally, selfies should have never become as popular as they actually are. On the other hand, the selfie bias may fulfill a psychological function. Perceiving ones own selfie behavior as self-ironic and only half-committed, allows to fulfill self-presentational needs without feeling narcissistic. In conclusion, we suggest that the playful and somewhat ambiguous support of self-presentation may be a key factor for the success of selfies. Relations to biases and mechanisms from social psychology, limitations of the present study and implications for future research are discussed

    The Influence of Regulatory Focus on Media Choice in Interpersonal Conflicts

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    People’s choices of (electronic) communication channels are central to the quality of communication—and sometimes detrimental to their actual communication goals. However, while factors influencing media choice are abundant, potential means to intentionally influence these choices are scarce within computer-mediated communication research. We explore the role of regulatory focus as one possible factor to understand and influence media choice in interpersonal conflicts. Regulatory focus theory proposes two motivational systems, promotion (i.e., needs for nurturance and growth) and prevention (i.e., needs for safety and security), that account for differences in preferred strategies for goal-pursuit. In a vignette-based study, we manipulated the situational regulatory focus (promotion or prevention) and surveyed participants’ preferred media choice for a hypothetical conflict scenario. Our results show that the induction of a dominant prevention focus (vs. promotion focus) leads to a shift in preference towards leaner communication media and channels that establish a higher subjective buffer between sender and receiver (e.g., text-messaging over calling). We elaborate on how these findings contribute to the understanding of media choice in interpersonal conflicts and point out potential ways to influence behavior through the design of communication technologies. Limitations of the present study and future research opportunities are discussed

    The Eternal Robot: Anchoring Effects in Humans' Mental Models of Robots and Their Self

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    Current robot designs often reflect an anthropomorphic approach, apparently aiming to convince users through an ideal system, being most similar or even on par with humans. The present paper challenges human-likeness as a design goal and questions whether simulating human appearance and performance adequately fits into how humans think about robots in a conceptual sense, i.e., human's mental models of robots and their self. Independent of the technical possibilities and limitations, our paper explores robots' attributed potential to become human-like by means of a thought experiment. Four hundred eighty-one participants were confronted with fictional transitions from human-to-robot and robot-to-human, consisting of 20 subsequent steps. In each step, one part or area of the human (e.g., brain, legs) was replaced with robotic parts providing equal functionalities and vice versa. After each step, the participants rated the remaining humanness and remaining self of the depicted entity on a scale from 0 to 100%. It showed that the starting category (e.g., human, robot) serves as an anchor for all former judgments and can hardly be overcome. Even if all body parts had been exchanged, a former robot was not perceived as totally human-like and a former human not as totally robot-like. Moreover, humanness appeared as a more sensible and easier denied attribute than robotness, i.e., after the objectively same transition and exchange of the same parts, the former human was attributed less humanness and self left compared to the former robot's robotness and self left. The participants' qualitative statements about why the robot has not become human-like, often concerned the (unnatural) process of production, or simply argued that no matter how many parts are exchanged, the individual keeps its original entity. Based on such findings, we suggest that instead of designing most human-like robots in order to reach acceptance, it might be more promising to understand robots as an own "species" and underline their specific characteristics and benefits. Limitations of the present study and implications for future HRI research and practice are discussed

    Digital Communication Channel Selection for Organizational Leadership: Best Practices for Interacting with Dispersed Stakeholders

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    As organizations embrace hybrid and remote work models, there is a growing need for organizational leaders to use digital communication channels to maintain active communication with dispersed stakeholders. The purpose of this study was to analyze what digital communication channels have been implemented by organizational leadership and why they were selected. LinkedIn, Twitter, and corporate posts from six CEOs within the New York Metropolitan area were analyzed over a four-year period. Results revealed that personal social media channels were the most frequent forms of communication. Additionally, multimedia and multichannel strategies enhanced the communication messages and led to a best practices guide for executives

    Invisible but Understandable: In Search of the Sweet Spot between Technology Invisibility and Transparency in Smart Spaces and Beyond

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    Smart technology is already present in many areas of everyday life. People rely on algorithms in crucial life domains such as finance and healthcare, and the smart car promises a more relaxed driving experience—all the while, the technology recedes further into the background. The smarter the technology, the more intransparent it tends to become. Users no longer understand how the technology works, what its limits are, and what consequences regarding autonomy and privacy emerge. Both extremes, total invisibility and total transparency, come with specific challenges and do not form reasonable design goals. This research explores the potential tension between smart and invisible versus transparent and understandable technology. We discuss related theories from the fields of explainable AI (XAI) as well as trust psychology, and then introduce transparency in smart spaces as a special field of application. A case study explores specific challenges and design approaches through the example of a so-called room intelligence (RI), i.e., a special kind of smart living room. We conclude with research perspectives for more general design approaches and implications for future research

    The State of Prototyping Practice in the Industrial Setting: Potential, Challenges and Implications

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    Prototyping as a central method within innovation- and product development processes has a high acceptance in industry. Various prototyping tools provide impressive visualizations of product ideas in early development stages and especially low fidelity prototyping methods seem easily applicable. However, a closer look at prototyping in practice reveals a number of misunderstandings and barriers regarding effective prototyping, often related to different stakeholders’ (e.g., developer, designer, client) ideas about the purpose of prototyping. Based on a combination of literature analysis, adapting existing models and methods in user centered design (e.g., personas, double diamond design process) and empirical results from industrial research cooperation, we introduce a focus group format and a first model of prototyping maturity, which can help organizations to reflect on their state of practice in prototyping on an individual, team, and organizational level. The maturity model also forms a valuable theoretical lens for design research. Thus, our research aims at researchers in the field of prototyping as well as practitioners involved in prototyping and innovation processes

    Towards Homo Digitalis: Important Research Issues for Psychology and the Neurosciences at the Dawn of the Internet of Things and the Digital Society

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    The present article gives an overview on central challenges humans face at the dawn of complex digital societies and the Internet of Things (IoT), i.e., a world completely connected to the Internet. Among the many challenges to be handled in digital societies is a growing fragmented life style leading to loss of productivity as well as moments for self-reflection. In all this, it is of tremendous importance to understand the impact of digital worlds on our brains and psyches and to reveal possible unintended side-effects of technology use. Does human nature change due to constant interactions with virtual realities? In this context, we also face the challenge to design digital worlds according to our mammalian-emotional heritage deeply anchored in subcortical areas of the human brain. Here, we refer to emotional needs as carved out by Panksepp’s Affective Neuroscience Theory and how they can or cannot be fulfilled in digital worlds. Aside from a review of several key studies dealing with the raised challenges, some first solutions to successfully meet the mentioned problems are provided to achieve sustainable and healthy digital worlds, with whom humans can interact carefree on a daily basis
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