IS in Healthcare
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Paper Type
Short
Paper Number
1354
Description
Conversational agents (CAs) are getting increasingly popular for dispensing health advice to both patients and general users. However, the literature on CAs presents a tension between the users’ conceptualization of agent-based conversations in transactional terms and the need for social elements like empathy and rapport-building in the health context. Using the Affective Response Model as a theoretical lens, we explore the social-transactional tension in user expectations of agent responses, based on a qualitative study with 8 participants. We found that a combination of social and transactional elements in agent responses is needed for the participants to feel understood. Furthermore, these two elements are mutually reinforcing reflecting a duality in the role of CAs as health advice agents. The duality is conceptualized through our theorization of Practical Empathy which defines four elements: consistency, progressivity, adaptability, and proactivity — as requirements for CAs to fulfill the expectation of the social-transactional duality.
Recommended Citation
Ghosh, Debjyoti and Faik, Isam, "Practical Empathy: The Duality of Social and Transactional Roles of Conversational Agents in Giving Health Advice" (2020). ICIS 2020 Proceedings. 5.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/icis2020/is_health/is_health/5
Practical Empathy: The Duality of Social and Transactional Roles of Conversational Agents in Giving Health Advice
Conversational agents (CAs) are getting increasingly popular for dispensing health advice to both patients and general users. However, the literature on CAs presents a tension between the users’ conceptualization of agent-based conversations in transactional terms and the need for social elements like empathy and rapport-building in the health context. Using the Affective Response Model as a theoretical lens, we explore the social-transactional tension in user expectations of agent responses, based on a qualitative study with 8 participants. We found that a combination of social and transactional elements in agent responses is needed for the participants to feel understood. Furthermore, these two elements are mutually reinforcing reflecting a duality in the role of CAs as health advice agents. The duality is conceptualized through our theorization of Practical Empathy which defines four elements: consistency, progressivity, adaptability, and proactivity — as requirements for CAs to fulfill the expectation of the social-transactional duality.
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5-Health