Assessing the impact of emojis in personality-imbued chatbots: insights from an academic advising perspective
Abstract
Purpose
This study investigates the impact of emoji use and user personality traits (conscientiousness vs extraversion) on user behavior in the context of academic advising. It uniquely considers the interaction between these chatbot characteristics and human users' dominant personality traits (conscientiousness and extraversion).
Design/methodology/approach
A mixed-factor design experiment involving 153 university students was employed. Participants interacted with four different chatbot conditions: a conscientious bot and an extroverted bot, each with and without emojis.
Findings
The inclusion of emojis negatively influenced users' intentions to use the chatbots but did not affect trust, perceived authenticity or intended engagement with the bots. Additionally, the students' personality traits played a role in evaluating the different chatbot types.
Originality/value
This research introduces a novel approach by integrating emoji use and human personality traits into chatbot communication, focusing on academic advising. It examines the interaction effects of emojis and personality traits (conscientiousness and extraversion) on user behavior, also considering the user’s personality traits. This work enriches the human-computer interaction field and guides future chatbot development.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Funding: This research was supported by the Zayed University, UAE, under grant number R23014.
Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Institutional review board statement: The study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the University (Application No. ZU23_008_F).
Erratum: It has come to the attention of the publisher that the article, Mohammad Amin Kuhail, Ons AL-Shamaileh, Justin Thomas, Erik Thornquist and Syed Jawad Hussain Shah “Assessing the impact of emojis in personality-imbued chatbots: insights from an academic advising perspective”, published in Information Technology & People, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print, was published with incorrect affiliation information for Justin Thomas. The correct affiliation information is King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra), Digital Wellbeing Program (Sync), Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. The error was introduced in the editorial process and has now been corrected in the online version. The publisher sincerely apologises for these errors and for any inconvenience caused.
Citation
Kuhail, M.A., AL-Shamaileh, O., Thomas, J., Thornquist, E. and Shah, S.J.H. (2025), "Assessing the impact of emojis in personality-imbued chatbots: insights from an academic advising perspective", Information Technology & People, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/ITP-12-2023-1286
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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