Testing a theoretical model of trust in human-machine communication: emotional experience and social presence

A theoretical model of trust in human-machine communication (HMC) was tested and emotional experience and social presence were evaluated during an interaction with an intelligent virtual agent (IVA), Siri. A two (‘American female’ or ‘American male’ Siri) by two (functional or social task) experiment was conducted with 229 subjects with random assignments. According to multivariate analyses of covariances, participants reported higher levels of emotional significance when they interacted with Siri to inquire about functional tasks. No gender or interaction effects between gender and task were detected. Confirmatory factor analyses and structural equation modelling indicated that both social presence and emotional experience were directly and positively associated with five dimensions of trust (i.e. perceived reliability, technical competence, perceived understandability, faith, and personal attachment) in Siri. This direct effect model was significant after controlling for the effects of task type. Additionally, a test of the mediation model indicated full mediation between emotional experiences and trust by social presence.