How “Real” Are Computer Personalities?

How “real” are computer personalities? Using a psychological criterion for “reality,” 2 studies tested whether people respond to computer personalities the same way they tend to respond to human personalities. In Experiment 1, dominant and submissive subjects were randomly matched with a computer endowed with the personality characteristics associated with dominance or submissiveness (N = 48). Consistent with similarity-attraction theory in interpersonal interaction, subjects were more attracted to the similar computer compared to the dissimilar computer. Experiment 2 (N = 88) used the same experimental design to assess users' psychological responses to changes in personality-based behavior in computers. Consistent with gain-loss theory in interpersonal interaction, changes in the direction of similarity had a more positive effect on attraction than a consistently similar personality. Loss effects were not obtained. The findings suggest that computer personalities are psychologically real to users.