ORCID

0000-0001-8120-4360

Keywords

source credibility, virtual agents, misinformation, chatbots, gender

Abstract

Source credibility theory states that the more credible a source appears to be, the more likely one is to believe both true and untrue information from it. In the modern day, misinformation is considered a major problem, particularly with virtual communication, meaning it is essential to study what factors influence a system’s source credibility. Virtual agents are a particularly relevant subject of study given that their source credibility can be impacted by both technological and social factors. Across three experiments, this dissertation utilized a novel chatbot interaction design to test how varying design factors would impact a chatbot’s source credibility and effectiveness. In the interaction, participants first interacted with a chatbot that told them true and untrue information, followed by a test where participants were asked to identify if each statement was true or false. In a second interaction, that chatbot corrected the untrue information, followed by a second test. Experiment 1 focused on levels of trust and expertise, where participants were told how accurate that chatbot was and what it was trained on. Experiment 2 focused on the modality and gender presentation of the chatbot, where the chatbot communicated with either voice or text and had either male, female, or ambiguous gender characteristics. Experiment 3 focused on if a history of errors would damage the chatbot’s source credibility, such that a new chatbot would be more effective than one that had already made errors. The results showed that participants had a high rate of believing misinformation, and that level of trust, expertise, and a history of errors all significantly affected the rate of belief, while modality and gender had some trending effects. Our findings show that higher source credibility increased chatbot effectiveness, and that the level of source credibility can be influenced by minor cues external to the interaction.

Completion Date

2026

Semester

Spring

Committee Chair

Sims, Valerie

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

College

College of Sciences

Department

Psychology

Format

PDF

Document Type

Dissertation

Identifier

DP0053201

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