Computers as Persuasive Social Actors

No studies have shown exactly how computing products trigger social responses in humans, but as the opening anecdote demonstrates, at times people do respond to computers as though they were living beings. The most likely explanation is that social responses to certain types of computing systems are automatic and natural; human beings are hardwired to respond to cues in the environment, especially to things that seem alive in some way. At some levelwe can’t control these social responses; they are casino jameshallison instinctive rather than rational. When people perceive social presence, they naturally respond in social ways—feeling empathy or anger, or following social rules such as taking turns. Social cues from computing products are important to understand because they trigger such automatic responses in people.

This chapter will explore the role of computing products as persuasive social actors—the third corner in the functional triad (Figure 5.1). These products persuade by giving a variety of social cues that elicit social responses from their human users.