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Abstract

Research on gender stereotyping suggests that females are perceived as being more likable than males are. Based on the CASA paradigm, which describes the human tendency to assign human traits to computers, we expect that this stereotype might also be present for virtual assistants, i.e., that female-voice virtual assistants are perceived as being more likable than male-voice virtual assistants. We conduct a controlled experiment that simulates a lifelike interaction with differently voiced virtual assistants to test this hypothesis. The results emphasize that gender stereotypes indeed influence users’ perception of virtual assistants, where female-voiced assistants are perceived as being more likable than male-voiced assistants. This has practical implications for the development and design of devices that utilize these virtual assistants.

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Aug 10th, 12:00 AM

The Impact of Gender Stereotyping on the Perceived Likability of Virtual Assistants

Research on gender stereotyping suggests that females are perceived as being more likable than males are. Based on the CASA paradigm, which describes the human tendency to assign human traits to computers, we expect that this stereotype might also be present for virtual assistants, i.e., that female-voice virtual assistants are perceived as being more likable than male-voice virtual assistants. We conduct a controlled experiment that simulates a lifelike interaction with differently voiced virtual assistants to test this hypothesis. The results emphasize that gender stereotypes indeed influence users’ perception of virtual assistants, where female-voiced assistants are perceived as being more likable than male-voiced assistants. This has practical implications for the development and design of devices that utilize these virtual assistants.

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