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Character style and relational judgments in human-AI romance: trust, commitment, intimacy, and passion
Jin Niu1, Weijiang She2, Wenting Cheng1
1School of Literature and Media, Dongguan University of Technology, Dongguan, China.
Frontiers in Psychology
|May 18, 2026
Summary
AI characters may not fully replace human partners in romantic relationships. While trust and commitment favor humans, intimacy and passion show complex interactions with AI character style and user gender.
Area of Science:
- Human-Computer Interaction (HCI)
- Relationship Psychology
- Artificial Intelligence (AI) Ethics
Background:
- AI-generated characters are increasingly integrated into emotional and romantic contexts.
- This integration raises questions about AI's potential to occupy relational space traditionally held by human partners.
- Understanding user perceptions of AI characters in romantic evaluations is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine how AI character style and participant gender influence initial romantic evaluations.
- To compare AI-generated targets with real human targets across four relational dimensions: Trust, Intimacy, Passion, and Commitment.
- To investigate the boundary between AI and human relational space.
Main Methods:
- A mixed-design experiment with 134 Generation Z participants (72 female, 62 male).
- Participants viewed 30-s video introductions of four opposite-sex targets (2D Anime, 3D Cartoon, Highly Humanoid AI, Real Human).
- Ratings were collected using an instrument adapted from automation trust scales and Sternberg's Triangular Love Scale.
Main Results:
- Real human targets were rated higher in Trust and Commitment compared to most AI conditions.
- Significant Character Style × Gender interactions were found for Intimacy (females preferring 2D Anime) and Passion (males preferring Highly Humanoid AI).
- AI characters did not fully match real humans in foundational relational dimensions under brief exposure.
Conclusions:
- The relational boundary between AI and humans is dimension-specific: firm on trust, maintained on commitment, permeable on intimacy and passion.
- Affective engagement dimensions (Intimacy, Passion) can shift independently of foundational relational dimensions (Trust, Commitment).
- The study provides a framework integrating HCI trust assessment with relationship psychology, highlighting dimensional separation in AI-human relational dynamics.
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