Affiliative humor and avatar presence in chat-bot interfaces Enhancing user trust

Topic

This master thesis investigates how affiliative humor and the presence of avatars enhance user trust in text-based chatbot interfaces, with perceived social presence serving as a mediating factor. This research highlights the importance of integrating human-like elements such as humor and avatars to strengthen the users' sense of connection and trust towards chatbots. By exploring how these elements collectively influence user trust through enhancing social presence, the study provides insights into optimizing chatbot design for more effective and engaging user interactions across various sectors

Relevance

Understanding how to enhance user trust in chatbots is vital for practitioners, especially as these systems become more prevalent in customer service, healthcare, education e-commerce and other areas. This research demonstrates that strategically incorporating affiliative humor and avatars can significantly boost the trust users place in chatbots. This enhancement is crucial for developing more intuitive and engaging digital interactions that meet users' needs and expectations, thereby increasing overall satisfaction and loyalty in automated services.

Results

The study revealed that affiliative humor significantly boosts initial user trust in chatbot interactions, with this effect being fully mediated by perceived social presence. Avatars independently elevated perceived social presence and initial trust, with avatar presence impacting trust through the mediating role of social presence. Notably, no interaction occurred between humor and avatars in influencing trust or social presence. These findings underscore the value of strategically integrating affiliative humor and avatars in chatbot design to cultivate more relatable, trustworthy interactions, without complex interplay between these humanizing elements.

Implications for practitioners

·       Incorporating affiliative humor in chatbots significantly boosts user trust by enhancing the perceived social presence, making the chatbot appear more human-like and approachable.

·       Avatars contribute to increasing the perceived social presence, further facilitating trust and enhancing the overall user experience with chatbots.

·       Designers and developers should focus on adding human-like features, such as affiliative humor and avatars, independently to optimize user trust in chatbot interactions.

·       These elements are particularly beneficial in sectors where building user trust is crucial, such as in healthcare, education, customer service,  e-commerce and more.

·       Future chatbot designs should explore dynamic and personalized avatars to maximize their impact on enhancing user trust and interaction quality.

Methods

This quantitative study employed a 2x2 factorial design to explore the effects of affiliative humor and avatar presence on initial user trust, with perceived social presence serving as a mediator. Participants interacted with a chatbot in a simulated online shopping scenario, providing feedback via structured questionnaires. The research utilized established scales to measure humor, social presence, and trust, ensuring robust and reliable findings. This method allowed for a clear examination of how humor and avatars independently and in combination influence user trust through perceived social presence in chatbot interactions.