Virtually in love: The role of anthropomorphism in virtual romantic relationships

Abstract

Romantic relationships are a cornerstone of human nature. Today, these relationships can potentially be fulfilled by virtual agents. Although previous psychological research has examined how human needs can be met by anthropomorphized agents, it has neglected virtual romantic relationships. This paper introduces the concept of romantic anthropomorphism (i.e., giving a non-human agent human-like characteristics in a romantic context) to help understand virtual romance. In three lab studies, we used romantic video games (RVGs) to examine how romantic anthropomorphism predicts relationship authenticity, desire for real-world relationship, and mood (Studies 1A, 1B, and 2) as well as real-world interpersonal behaviour (Study 2). Study 1A revealed that romantic anthropomorphism of a virtual agent predicted desire for a real-world relationship with the virtual agent and greater positive affect via feeling that the relationship built with the virtual agent was authentic. Study 1B replicated these results using a larger sample and a different RVG. Study 2 replicated these results, but revealed that playing RVGs failed to predict real-world behaviour in a subsequent interaction with a human confederate. This research identifies a unique way that people find connection in the modern world and provides novel insight into the fields of anthropomorphism, virtual interactions, and relationship science.

From fun to fantasy: Gaming experiences, perceived presence, and adolescent romantic parasocial attachments in romantic video games.

“…It is found that the human-like voice given to the virtual male characters not only predicted perceived presence, but also predicted ARPA through the mediating effect of perceived presence. This finding is consistent with previous studies showing that romantic anthropomorphism of a virtual agent predicts romantic relationship desire and positive emotions via the sense of authenticity (Koike et al, 2023). When interacting with the virtual character in RVGs, voice is a prominent feature apart from visual elements (Chiou et al, 2020).…”

“…The rendering of the human-like voice to the virtual character represents the process of anthropomorphism in which nonhuman entities are given human-like characteristics (Epley et al, 2007). Koike et al (2023) further introduced romantic anthropomorphism to examine the desire of RVG players to foster "a genuine and intimate romantic connection with the virtual agent" (p. 602). Anthropomorphism has been found to be effective in satisfying people's social needs and building a deeper social connection (Kwok et al, 2018).…”

Ecological perspectives on virtual community engagement among university students during and after COVID-19

“…It was also suggested that parental monitoring of children's activities on these websites could help reduce their potential negative impacts (Chen and Kent, 2020). Another study confirmed the significant traits and factors that contribute to establishing virtual relationships (Koike et al, 2023). This research relied on a social survey and a questionnaire administered to a sample of individuals.…”