research-article

Synchrony facilitates altruistic decision making for non-human avatars

Authors:

Jonathan Gratch,

Norah E. DunbarAuthors Info & Claims

Volume 128, Issue C

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2021.107079

Published: 01 March 2022 Publication History

Abstract

Synchrony is a natural part of human interaction and is often associated with a variety of prosocial outcomes including affinity and rapport. The purpose of this research was to examine whether human negotiators would synchronize their movements when working with non-human avatars and if so, whether that would affect their perceptions of their negotiations. Results suggest that participants synchronized their movements with the movements of non-human negotiation partners, that greater synchrony was observed when participants engaged in an integrative negotiation compared to a distributive negotiation, and participants that engaged in synchrony reported greater affiliation with their non-human partner. Synchrony also lead to giving more to the non-human agent in an integrative negotiation whereas it had no significant impact on the outcomes in a distributive negotiation. Implications for human-machine interaction are discussed.

Highlights

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This study employed a factorial experimental design with the setting of negotiation (integrative, distributive) manipulated.

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Participants (N = 172) completed a negotiation experiment with a non-human avatar.

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Participants synchronized their movements with the movements of their non-human negotiation partners.

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Greater synchrony was observed when participants engaged in an integrative negotiation compared to distributive negotiation.

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Participants that engaged in synchrony reported greater affiliation with their non-human partner.

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cover image Computers in Human Behavior

Computers in Human Behavior Volume 128, Issue C

Mar 2022

558 pages

ISSN:0747-5632

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Elsevier Science Publishers B. V.

Netherlands

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Published: 01 March 2022

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