When the interface is a face

  • Authors:

  • Lee Sproull;Mani Subramani;Sara Kiesler;Janet H. Walker;Keith Waters

  • Affiliations:

  • School of Management, Boston University, Boston, MA;School of Management, Boston University, Boston, MA;Social and Decision Sciences, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA;Digital Equipment Corporation, Cambridge, MA;Digital Equipment Corporation, Cambridge Research Laboratory, Cambridge, MA

  • Venue:
  • Human-Computer Interaction
  • Year:
  • 1996

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Abstract

People behave differently in the presence of other people than they do when they are alone. People also may behave differently when designers introduce more human-like qualities into computer interfaces. In an experimental study we demonstrate that people's responses to a talking-face interface differ from their responses to a text-display interface. They attribute some personality traits to it; they are more aroused by it; they present themselves in a more positive light. We use theories of person perception, social facilitation, and self-presentation to predict and interpret these results. We suggest that as computer interfaces become more "human-like," people who use those interfaces may change their own personas in response to them.