Assessing the impact of emojis in personality-imbued chatbots: insights from an academic advising perspective

Document Type

Article

Source of Publication

Information Technology and People

Publication Date

1-27-2025

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.

ISSN

0959-5813

Publisher

Emerald

Volume

ahead-of-print

Issue

ahead-of-print

Disciplines

Computer Sciences

Keywords

emoji use, chatbot, personality traits, academic advising, user behavior

Indexed in Scopus

no

Open Access

no

Link to Full Text

Share

COinS