Bridging the expectation-performance gap: how framing shapes older adults' intentions to engage with artificial...

As China accelerates artificial intelligence (AI) integration in care of older adults to address population aging, understanding older adults' (65+) engagement with assistive technologies becomes imperative. However, their intention to engage with these innovations may be significantly influenced by expectation confirmation, which refers to how individuals compare their initial expectations with their actual experience of use. This effect is shaped by framing-the way in which information is presented. This study extends Expectation-Confirmation theory by investigating (a) how expectation confirmation affects older adults' intention to use AI, and (b) whether the performance frame moderates this relationship.

Through a 3 (expectation confirmation: positive or negative disconfirmation vs confirmation) × 3 (performance frame: positive or negative frame vs no frame) experiment (N = 291), we tested our hypotheses by manipulating experienced confirmation and descriptive frames of AI performance.

Expectation confirmation significantly predicted the behavioral intention to use AI (F(2, 281) = 57.376, p < .001), and performance frame moderated this relationship (F(4, 275) = 2.830, p < .05). The positive frame mitigated the adverse effects of negative expectation disconfirmation and enhanced the effect of expectation confirmation. The absence of frame was most effective in stimulating the power of positive expectation disconfirmation.

Our findings extend Expectation-Confirmation theory by identifying age-specific framing contingencies in AI adoption. Contrary to Technology Acceptance Model emphasizing perceived ease of use and usefulness, our results suggest expectation-frame also impacts older adults' AI adopting willingness.