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Scholarly Works (3 results)

  • Thesis
  • Peer Reviewed
UC Santa Cruz Electronic Theses and Dissertations (2019)

Whether another person is perceived as similar or different from oneself can lead to differing impressions of their inherent human-like qualities (Haslam, 2006). As the boundaries between human-computer interaction and computer-mediated communication become increasingly fuzzy, it is important to assess in which ways these humanization measurements may also apply to non-human agents. There is evidence for interventions involving motion synchrony that can strengthen interpersonal bonds and perhaps instill a sense of similarity between individuals who otherwise have little in common (Wiltermuth & Heath, 2009), but it is as yet unclear whether similar effects can be observed for interactions between human and non-human agents. In a series of three experiments, I investigate the effect of synchrony on interactions with machine agents in three health contexts (mental, physical, and social health), each designed to be successively more applicable to real-life interactions between humans and machines (using static robot therapists, a physical robot exercise coach, and then an anonymous on-line debate and a game-like activity with a supposedly human or machine addressee). Humanization ratings did correspond to robot preference, and participation in an optional mimicry task after the initial training did lead to more positive humanization scores for the robot that was designed to help, rather than replace human therapists (Experiment 1). Synchronized stretching exercises resulted in warmer responses during interactions with a physical robot than non-synchronous exercises (Experiment 2). People gave higher humanization ratings to supposedly human agents, and are more persuaded by synchrony with anonymous human agents or non-synchrony with machine agents (Experiment 3). This research provides evidence for the importance of synchrony and backstories in building positive interactions between humans and machine agents, as well as between humans and other humans in anonymized contexts. However, it is important to bear in mind that attitudes around the capabilities of machines as compared to humans can lead to different responses following synchrony exercises. For example, while participants are more persuaded by emotionally distant machine agents, non-threatening outgroup members receive greater humanization benefits from motion-matching activities.

    Cover page: How Collaborative Synchrony Affects Humanization of Machines and Rehumanization of Humans
    • Article
    • Peer Reviewed
    Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society, Volume 37 (2015)
    While conversationally common, sarcasm presents identification challenges in writing. For example, ”Oh wow!” may be expressed both sincerely and ironically. Research suggests that interpretation of ambiguous sarcasm may be context dependent, though precisely how visual and auditory cues contribute to comprehension remains unclear. To explore this, we recorded an actor performing 45 phrases sarcastically and sincerely. In two calibration studies, we selected 16 ambiguous phrases that were identifiable with all cues available. In the main study, participants classified these phrases as sarcastic or sincere in three conditions: audio-video (N=32), audio-only (N=29), or video-only (N=26). Performance was high (91%) with both cues available. Intriguingly, the drops in performance with audio only (82%, p<.001) and video only (80%, p<.0001) were small and not significantly different from one another (p>.5) suggesting auditory and visual cues contribute similarly to sarcasm comprehension. We replicated these results in a separate within-subjects experiment (N=77).
      Cover page: ”No way!”: Similar contribution of visual and auditory cues to sarcasm comprehension
      • Article
      • Peer Reviewed
      UC Berkeley Previously Published Works (2016)
      Although recent research has shown that the frontal cortex has a critical role in perceptual decision making, an overarching theory of frontal functional organization for perception has yet to emerge. Perceptual decision making is temporally organized such that it requires the processes of selection, criterion setting, and evaluation. We hypothesized that exploring this temporal structure would reveal a large-scale frontal organization for perception. A causal intervention with transcranial magnetic stimulation revealed clear specialization along the rostrocaudal axis such that the control of successive stages of perceptual decision making was selectively affected by perturbation of successively rostral areas. Simulations with a dynamic model of decision making suggested distinct computational contributions of each region. Finally, the emergent frontal gradient was further corroborated by functional MRI. These causal results provide an organizational principle for the role of frontal cortex in the control of perceptual decision making and suggest specific mechanistic contributions for its different subregions.
        Cover page: Causal evidence for frontal cortex organization for perceptual decision making
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