By affording interactive communication and natural, human-like conversations, can media tools affect the way we engage with content in human–machine interactions and influence our attitudes toward that content? A between-subjects experiment (N = 172) examined the effects of two communication variables: (a) message-interactivity and (b) conversational tone, in an online health information (Q&A) tool. Findings suggest that informal conversational tone lowers perceptions of relative susceptibility to health risks. Perceived contingency positively mediates the influence of message interactivity on individuals' health attitudes and behavioral intentions whereas perceived interactivity negatively mediates the relationships between these variables. These contrasting mediation effects are further explored via a phantom model analysis that tests two theoretically distinct paths, with implications for both theory and practice.

中文翻译：

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用机器交谈健康：消息交互如何影响态度和认知？

通过提供交互式通信和自然的，类似于人的对话，媒体工具是否可以影响我们在人机交互中与内容互动的方式，并影响我们对该内容的态度？受试者之间的一项实验（N = 172）使用在线健康信息（Q＆A）工具检查了两个通信变量的影响：（a）消息交互性和（b）对话音。研究结果表明，非正式的谈话语调降低了人们对健康风险的相对易感性。感知的偶然性积极地调节了信息交互对个人健康态度和行为意图的影响，而感知的交互性则负面地调节了这些变量之间的关系。