Prosocial behavior toward machines

Area of Science:

• Human-Computer Interaction
• Social Psychology
• Cognitive Science

Background:

• The "computers are social actors" framework posits that humans treat machines as social entities.
• Existing research demonstrates that people exhibit prosocial behaviors towards machines.

Purpose of the Study:

• To overview research on human prosocial behavior towards machines.
• To identify common motivational and cognitive processes in human-human and human-machine prosociality.
• To highlight the significance of studying human-machine prosocial behavior for effective human-computer interaction.

Main Methods:

• Literature review and synthesis of existing research findings.
• Analysis of studies examining human responses to machines.

Main Results:

• Humans perceive machines as somewhat human, applying social categories and experiencing social emotions.
• People are socially influenced by machines, mirroring social dynamics in human interactions.
• Motivational and cognitive processes underlying prosociality are shared between human-human and human-machine contexts.

Conclusions:

• Studying prosocial behavior towards machines is crucial for optimizing human-machine interactions.
• Machines offer a unique, controllable, and humanlike resource for advancing the study of prosocial behavior.
• Understanding these behaviors can lead to more seamless and effective integration of machines into society.