Am I Talking to a Real Person? Experimental Investigations into Human Perceptions of Therapeutic Chatbots
Role
Chief Investigator
Description
Therapeutic chatbots could enhance the accessibility of psychological treatments, reducing wait times and costs; yet questions remain about user acceptance. Millet et al. (2023) highlight biases against AI-generated art, suggesting a similar bias may exist for perceptions of therapeutic chatbots. This program of experimental research will investigate whether therapeutic communications are perceived as less empathetic when attributed to therapeutic chatbots, as opposed to humans, across three populations: the general community; therapists/counsellors; and mental health app users. This research will inform future integration of chatbots into digital interventions, including their suitability across different contexts, and highlight targets for improved user experience.
Date
28 May 2024 - 28 May 2025
Project Type
INTERNAL_RESARCH_GRANT
Keywords
N/A
Funding Body
James Cook University
Amount
7000
Project Team
Dan Miller;Klaire Somoray;Brian Law;Adrian Shatte;Sam Teague