Let Me Hold Your Hand: Effects of Anthropomorphism and Touch Behavior on Self-Disclosure Intention, Attachment, and Cerebral Activity Towards AI Mental Health Counselors

One prolific growth area for artificial intelligence (AI) is counselors for mental health. Earlier studies have reported that anthropomorphic features and haptic interaction can promote user engagement in conversations and foster the development of relationships between users and intelligent agents. This study examined the main and interaction effects of anthropomorphism and touch behavior on self-disclosure intention, attachment, and cerebral activity in the context of agents as AI mental health counselors (AIMHC). The results indicated that users tend to disclose information to the non-anthropomorphism AIMHC, regardless of with or without touch behavior. Users reported the highest attachment towards the anthropomorphism AIMHC with touch behavior. Additionally, privacy concerns and perceived empathy were determined as significant mediators. Moreover, anthropomorphism induced increased activity in the frontopolar area, correlating with self-disclosure intention. Anthropomorphism AIMHC's touch behavior evoked the greatest increases in left DLPFC activity. This study explains the mechanism of effect and analyzes the theoretical and practical implications of these findings.