Wild Narratives: Exploring the Effects of Animal Chatbots on Empathy and Positive Attitudes toward Animals

TL;DR

This study investigates how animal chatbots with specific design cues can enhance empathy and positive attitudes toward animals, demonstrating their potential in conservation and societal empathy-building.

Contribution

It introduces the design of animal chatbots that effectively evoke empathy and prosocial attitudes, expanding understanding of non-human chatbot identities.

Findings

Chatbots with emotional expressions increase empathy.

Authentic animal details improve attitudes.

Positive behavioral intentions are promoted.

Abstract

Rises in the number of animal abuse cases are reported around the world. While chatbots have been effective in influencing their users' perceptions and behaviors, little if any research has hitherto explored the design of chatbots that embody animal identities for the purpose of eliciting empathy toward animals. We therefore conducted a mixed-methods experiment to investigate how specific design cues in such chatbots can shape their users' perceptions of both the chatbots' identities and the type of animal they represent. Our findings indicate that such chatbots can significantly increase empathy, improve attitudes, and promote prosocial behavioral intentions toward animals, particularly when they incorporate emotional verbal expressions and authentic details of such animals' lives. These results expand our understanding of chatbots with non-human identities and highlight their potential for use in conservation initiatives, suggesting a promising avenue whereby technology could foster a more informed and empathetic society.