Abstract

Within the context of virtual human influencers, the current study adds to the growing literature examining the impact of a social media–based mix of reality and virtuality on perceived anthropomorphism and authenticity, in addition to the subsequent effects on advertising perceptions and implicit behavior. Through an experimental design with 242 participants, data suggest that while some elements of realism and product engagement levels do increase anthropomorphic and authenticity perceptions, the effects significantly attenuate when the virtual influencer is engaging with too much reality in a single social media post, such as consuming a real-world branded product with a real human. Further, data suggest that presenting virtual influencers within a “mixed” reality social media–based environment can lead to implicit product selection through endorser and brand credibility and attitude toward the brand.

摘要

在虚拟人类影响者的背景下，当前的研究增加了越来越多的文献，研究基于社交媒体的现实和虚拟混合对感知拟人化和真实性的影响，以及对广告感知和隐性行为的后续影响。通过 242 名参与者的实验设计，数据表明，虽然现实主义和产品参与度的某些元素确实增加了拟人化和真实性感知，但当虚拟影响者在单个社交媒体帖子中涉及太多现实时，效果会显着减弱，例如与真人一起消费真实世界的品牌产品。更远，