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Cited by 39Social Robot Interaction and HRIAI in Service InteractionsInnovative Human-Technology Interaction

Impact of media dependence: how emotional interactions between users and chat robots affect human socialization?

Open access
Yuan, Ziying, Cheng, Xiaoliang, Duan, Yujing·2024·Frontiers in Psychology
DOI 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1388860PMC PMC11362029
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Abstract

In the era of intelligent media, human users and chatbots have established a deep dependency relationship through communication, making media dependence a behavioral foundation that widely permeates human social practice. This article investigates how media dependence affects human social interaction during emotional interactions between human users and chatbots. Based on the theory of media dependence, the existing mature scales of media dependence and interpersonal communication were adapted, and 496 Replika user questionnaires were collected. After screening the validity of the questionnaires, 428 valid questionnaires were obtained. Descriptive statistical analysis, correlation analysis, multiple linear regression analysis, and mediation effect testing were used to analyze the impact of media dependence on human–computer emotional interaction. Results indicate a significant positive correlation between human–chatbot emotional interaction and human user social interaction. Media dependence significantly positively regulates emotional interactions between humans and chatbots. In addition, the social interactions of human users are partially influenced by factors such as user nature, age, education, and income.

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Yuan, Z., Cheng, X., & Duan, Y.
Affiliations
Chengdu University of Technology (CN)
Corresponding author
Cheng, Xiaoliang
ORCID
Cheng, Xiaoliang
Venue
Frontiers in Psychology
Publisher
Frontiers Media SA
Published
2024-08-16
Volume
15
Pages
1388860-1388860
ISSN
1664-1078 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1388860
PMC
PMC11362029
OpenAlex
W4401650423
Cited by
39
References
5
Citations by year
2026: 25 · 2025: 13 · 2024: 1
FWCI
18.50
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Frontiers in Psychology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Social Robot Interaction and HRI
  • Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Artificial Intelligence › AI in Service Interactions
  • Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Human-Computer Interaction › Innovative Human-Technology Interaction
Keywords
media dependence, chatbots, human-chatbot interaction, emotional interaction, social interaction, Replika, human-computer interaction, intelligent media, user demographics

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