ABSTRACT

Virtual advisors (VA) are tools that assist users in making decisions. Using VAs necessitates the disclosure of personal information, especially when they are employed in personalized contexts such as healthcare, where disclosure is vital to providing valid and accurate advice. Yet, extant research has largely overlooked the factors that encourage or inhibit users’ from disclosing to VAs. In contrast, this study investigates the determinants of users’ intentions to self-disclose, and examines how VAs can be designed to enhance these intentions. The results of a study in the context of skin care advice reveal that the intention to disclose to a VA is not only the product of a rational process, but that perceptions of the VA and the relationship with it are important. The results further show that a parsimonious set of design elements can be used to endow a VA with desired characteristics that enhance the willingness to disclose. The study contributes to our understanding of the factors influencing users’ intentions to provide personal information to a VA, which extend beyond the expected benefits and costs. The study further demonstrates that social exchange theory can be applied in contexts in which humans are interacting with automated VAs.

摘要

虚拟顾问 (VA) 是帮助用户做出决策的工具。使用 VA 需要披露个人信息，尤其是在医疗保健等个性化环境中使用时，披露对于提供有效和准确的建议至关重要。然而，现有的研究在很大程度上忽略了鼓励或抑制用户向 VA 披露的因素。相比之下，本研究调查了用户自我披露意图的决定因素，并研究了如何设计 VA 来增强这些意图。一项关于护肤建议的研究结果表明，向 VA 披露的意图不仅是理性过程的产物，而且对 VA 及其关系的看法也很重要。结果进一步表明，一组简约的设计元素可用于赋予 VA 所需的特征，从而增强披露意愿。该研究有助于我们了解影响用户向 VA 提供个人信息的意图的因素，这些因素超出了预期的收益和成本。该研究进一步表明，社会交换理论可以应用于人类与自动化 VA 交互的环境中。