CASA Renovations: Examining Social Responses to an Anthropomorphic Media Representative That Is Separate From the Core Technology Being Represented

Authors

• Rabindra Ratan, Michigan State UniversityFollow
• Dayeoun Jang, Michigan State UniversityFollow
• Taenyun Kim, Michigan State UniversityFollow
• Kelsey Earle, Michigan State UniversityFollow
• Gabriel E. Hales, Michigan State UniversityFollow
• Yiming Skylar Lei, Michigan State UniversityFollow
• Chaeyun Lim, Michigan State UniversityFollow
• Andrew Gambino, University of DelawareFollow

Abstract

To extend our understanding of CASA and account for changes in technological complexity and configuration, this research asks: Do increasing levels of social cues in a media representative that is separate from the core technology it represents lead to increased perceived anthropomorphism of the core technology? And does such perceived anthropomorphism predict positive treatment of the core technology? We conducted two complementary studies observing e-scooter use and treatment, an online experiment focused on responses to video stimuli and a field experiment focused on actual user behavior. Findings suggest that, indeed, social cues in a media representative (i.e., an e-scooter rental mobile application) of a separate core technology (i.e., the e-scooter itself ) leads to positive attitudes about the core technology, potentially because of increased perceived anthropomorphism.

DOI

10.30658/hmc.10.6

Author ORCID Identifier

Rabindra Ratan: 0000-0001-7611-8046

Dayeoun Jang: 0000-0001-6429-5870

Taenyun Kim: 0000-0001-7817-5036

Kelsey Earle: 0000-0001-6483-8580

Gabriel E. Hales: 0000-0001-7543-3714

Yiming Skylar Lei: 0000-0003-3906-5939

Chaeyun Lim: 0000-0003-2570-3071

Andrew Gambino: 0000-0001-8657-6788

Recommended Citation

Ratan, R., Jang, D., Kim, T., Earle, K., Hales, G. E., Lei, Y. S., Lim, C., & Gambino, A. (2025). CASA renovations: Examining social responses to an anthropomorphic media representative that is separate from the core technology being represented. Human-Machine Communication, 10, 113–146. https://doi.org/10.30658/hmc.10.6