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
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