Latest Publication: Deep Mind

How do humans interact and respond to computers as social actors? What is the mechanism of psychological processing behind the scene? Here is our latest publication in Computers in Human Behavior. You have the opportunity to get a free published version (in PDF) by going to this link before June 30, 2022: https://authors.elsevier.com/c/1f3Aw2f~UWIsSN

Many thanks to my collaborators Dr. Kun Xu and Xiaobei Chen.

Abstract:
The Computers are Social Actors (CASA) paradigm has been increasingly used as a major theoretical framework to explain users’ social responses to emerging technologies such as chatbots, voice assistants, and social robots. However, the core explanatory mechanism of the CASA paradigm is still under debate. In past works, mixed findings have emerged to support the mindlessness explanation and the mindfulness explanation. Thus, to better understand which mechanism features more explanatory power, this study analyzed 834 participants’ responses and adopted a new approach combining the experimental design and classical multidimensional scaling. An investigation into participants’ cognitive maps of technology differences in evoking social presence and perceived trustworthiness suggested that compared to mindfulness, mindlessness had more power in accounting for users’ social responses to technologies. The findings can serve as important evidence for the explanatory mechanism of the CASA paradigm, make methodological contributions, and have practical implications.