Evaluating the Scope and Theoretical Mechanisms of Person-Centered Social Support: The Case of the Comforting Computer Program

Abstract

Although the utility of verbal person-centeredness (VPC) as a feature of social support messages has been demonstrated in numerous studies, questions remain about the scope and theoretical mechanisms that explain VPC effects. Two experiments were conducted to evaluate whether the salutary effects of VPC extend to generic VPC messages and to explore the role of validation as a theoretical mechanism. Participants discussed a personal problem with a fictional computer program named “ListenerBot” that provided standardized responses containing high or low levels of VPC. Participants who received high VPC feedback from ListenerBot experienced a greater reduction in emotional distress than participants who received low VPC feedback. Path models consistently showed that high VPC feedback validated participants’ feelings, which led them to reappraise their situation and ultimately reduced their emotional distress. VPC, however, did not impact participants’ discussion of their thoughts and emotions.

Support seeker expectations, support message quality, and supportive interaction processes and outcomes: The case of the comforting computer program revisited

“…Finally, given prior research demonstrating the benefits of messages containing high levels of VPC (High & Dillard, 2012; Samter & MacGeorge, 2016), we expect that high VPC feedback will lead support seekers to experience a greater reduction in emotional distress than low VPC feedback. Taken as a whole, this set of predictions serves to replicate previous research examining the effects of high and low VPC messages delivered by a computer program (Rains et al, in press) and further evaluate the mechanisms of VPC (Bodie, 2011; Jones & Wirtz, 2006). Hypothesis 1 (H1) : Relative to support seekers who receive low VPC feedback, seekers who receive high VPC feedback will (a) evaluate the support provider more positively, (b) engage in greater discussion of their problems indexed by total words spoken and use of language reflecting emotions and sensemaking, and (c) experience a greater reduction in emotional distress. …”

“…Most relevant to this study, the benefits of high VPC support messages have been documented in research exploring human–computer interaction. In two experiments, participants discussed a personal problem during an interaction with what appeared to be a computer program that provided standardized feedback containing high or low levels of VPC (Rains et al, in press). Participants in both experiments who received high VPC feedback experienced a significantly greater reduction in emotional distress than participants who received low VPC feedback.…”

“…The validation and efforts to foster understanding that define high VPC feedback should make support seekers more motivated to engage their problems and discuss those problems more extensively. Although the engagement spurred by support containing high levels of VPC should extend to seekers’ efforts to talk about their emotions and use language reflecting sensemaking (Burleson & Goldsmith, 1998), the results from research testing these outcomes have been mixed (Bodie, 2011; Jones & Wirtz, 2006; Rains et al, in press). These inconsistent findings underscore the importance of further examining the influence of VPC on the ways in which people talk about their problems.…”

“…Researchers have routinely documented the benefits of high VPC messages for coping with emotional distress (for a review, see High & Dillard, 2012). Indeed, the salutary effects of high VPC messages have even been observed in the context of standardized support messages delivered by a computer program (Rains, Pavlich, Tsetsi, & Akers, in press).…”

An Initial Conceptualization of Algorithm Responsiveness: Comparing Perceptions of Algorithms Across Social Media Platforms

“…For example, when non-humanoid robots displayed verbal and nonverbal immediacy in response to a person's disclosure, the robots were rated as more responsive and desirable than robots that remained neutral (Birnbaum et al, 2016). Another experiment on dehumanized chatbots found that supportive messages validating one's affect and perspective reduced distress more so than messages that denied or criticized the person, mirroring how supportive messages function in interpersonal communication (Rains et al, 2020).…”