The research helps advance the understanding of virtual romance

The research helps advance the understanding of virtual romance

An international team of researchers has published a paper introducing the concept of romantic anthropomorphism, which involves giving a non-human agent human-like characteristics in a romantic context. Their work helps advance researchers' understanding of virtual romance. While previous psychological research has examined how human needs can be met through anthropomorphized agents, this research is the first to examine virtual romantic relationships.

The research was published in the British Journal of Social Psychology on August 1, 2022.

Most research on romantic relationships has focused on social domains between people, and most previous anthropomorphism research has focused on platonic anthropomorphism. Our research helps open up a new field that bridges the gap between anthropomorphism and relational science.”

Mayu Koike, Assistant Professor, Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Hiroshima University

Virtual agents are playing an increasingly important role in our modern world. A virtual agent, also called a virtual representative or chatbot, is a software application that uses natural language processing and scripted responses to assist people online. Typically, virtual agents replace human labor, but as these agents become more complex, they are used in different ways. People's romantic lives are an important social area in which virtual agents are playing a growing role. The human need to love and be loved is universal. For most of human history, this meant another person – someone to love and love back. But today it is possible for a virtual agent to fulfill this requirement.

Romantic video games feature virtual characters that are increasingly interactive and responsive. These games, which offer millions of people the opportunity to nurture, nurture and enjoy a romantic relationship with a virtual agent, are growing in popularity. Despite the rapidly growing popularity of these games, researchers had not yet systematically studied these virtual romances.

As virtual agents become more complex and interactive, people may come to view them as essentially like other humans. When this is the case, relationships with these virtual agents can feel real and authentic, causing people to feel positive emotions and a desire to continue the relationship.

To better understand and explore this concept called anthropomorphism, the research team conducted laboratory studies and used romantic video games to examine how romantic anthropomorphism predicts relationship authenticity, real-world relationship desire, and real-world mood and interpersonal behavior.

Their first laboratory study found that a virtual agent's romantic anthropomorphism predicted a person's desire for a real-world relationship with the virtual agent and greater positive affect from feeling that the relationship formed with the virtual agent was authentic. In their second study, they replicated the results of the first study with a larger sample and a different romantic video game. Their third study replicated the results of the first two studies, but showed that playing romantic video games could not predict real-world behavior in a subsequent interaction with a human research actor.

The core pathway uncovered in these three studies showed that anthropomorphism was associated with outcomes when people felt that their connection and relationship with the virtual agent was genuine. "This finding suggests that it is not anthropomorphism per se - there is no reliable direct connection between anthropomorphism and outcomes - but rather how anthropomorphism feeds through the authenticity of relationships that predicts the desire for a real-world relationship with a virtual agent and positive mood. Simply put, anthropomorphism creates the feeling of authenticity in relationships. In turn, authenticity in relationships is important to build a strong bond with agents,” said Koike. The team's research identifies a unique way people find connection in the modern world and offers new insights into the fields of anthropomorphism, virtual interactions and relationship science.

Looking forward, the team suggests that future research could systematically vary the extent to which a romantic interest is likely to induce anthropomorphism. "This represents an important future direction for the field. Additionally, it would be beneficial for future research to examine whether personality traits or other individual differences influence whether people engage in romantic anthropomorphism," Koike said.

The research team includes Mayu Koike from the University of Hiroshima and Steve Loughnan and Sarah CE Stanton from the University of Edinburgh.

This research is funded by a grant from the Leverhulme Trust.

Source:

Hiroshima University

Reference:

Koike, M., et al. (2022) Virtually in Love: The Role of Anthropomorphism in Virtual Romantic Relationships. British Journal of Social Psychology. doi.org/10.1111/bjso.12564.

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