Effectiveness of an Empathic Chatbot in Combating Adverse Effects of Social Exclusion on Mood
Effectiveness of an Empathic Chatbot in Combating Adverse Effects of Social Exclusion on Mood
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DOI：
10.3389/fpsyg.2019.03061
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发表时间：
2020-01-23
影响因子：
3.8
通讯作者：
Lucas, Gale
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
de Gennaro, Mauro;Krumhuber, Eva G.;Lucas, Gale
从过去的研究来看，社会排斥对心理健康有不利的影响是众所周知的。为了应对这些不利影响，被社会排斥的个体经常向其他人寻求情感支持。虽然聊天机器人可以引起人类对话者的社交和情感反应，但它们在社会排斥背景下的有效性尚未得到研究。在本研究中，我们研究了共情聊天机器人是否可以作为缓冲社会排斥的不利影响。在经历了社交媒体上的排斥之后，参与者被随机分配到一个有同理心的聊天机器人上谈论这件事（例如，“我很抱歉这件事发生在你身上”），或者在一个控制条件下，他们的回应只是得到承认（例如，“谢谢你的反馈”）。重复之前的研究，结果显示，社会排斥的经历会抑制参与者的情绪。然而，与一个有同理心的聊天机器人互动似乎有减轻影响。值得一提的是，聊天机器人干预组的参与者比对照组的参与者情绪更高。讨论了理论、方法和实践意义，以及未来研究的方向。
From past research it is well known that social exclusion has detrimental consequences for mental health. To deal with these adverse effects, socially excluded individuals frequently turn to other humans for emotional support. While chatbots can elicit social and emotional responses on the part of the human interlocutor, their effectiveness in the context of social exclusion has not been investigated. In the present study, we examined whether an empathic chatbot can serve as a buffer against the adverse effects of social ostracism. After experiencing exclusion on social media, participants were randomly assigned to either talk with an empathetic chatbot about it (e.g., "I'm sorry that this happened to you") or a control condition where their responses were merely acknowledged (e.g., "Thank you for your feedback"). Replicating previous research, results revealed that experiences of social exclusion dampened the mood of participants. Interacting with an empathetic chatbot, however, appeared to have a mitigating impact. In particular, participants in the chatbot intervention condition reported higher mood than those in the control condition. Theoretical, methodological, and practical implications, as well as directions for future research are discussed.