Don’t send an avatar to do a human’s job: investigating adults’ preferences for discussing embarrassing topics with an avatar

Abstract

Disclosing information in help-seeking settings is important, but often, disclosure in these contexts is low due to embarrassment. Here, we examined adults’ views about disclosing embarrassing information to an avatar interviewer. In Study 1, 296 adults were asked to indicate their preference to speak to an avatar or to a human about each of the 41 topics varying in degrees of embarrassment. Regardless of topic, participants indicated a higher preference for talking to a human over an avatar. In Study 2, 50 adults indicated their preference to speak to an avatar or to a human about each topic after they had experience with each kind of interviewer. Again, regardless of topic, participants indicated a higher preference for talking to a human over an avatar. In sum, the present study highlights that for communicating embarrassing topics in help-seeking settings, some people may prefer their own kind over an avatar.