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Virtual agents and risk-taking behavior in adolescence : the twofold nature of nudging
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Di Dio, Cinzia, Manzi, Federico, Miraglia, Laura, Gummerum, Michaela, Bigozzi, Simone, Davide, Massaro and Marchetti, Antonella (2023) Virtual agents and risk-taking behavior in adolescence : the twofold nature of nudging. Scientific Reports, 13 (1). 11242. doi:10.1038/s41598-023-38399-w ISSN 2045-2322.
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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-38399-w
Abstract
Peer pressure can influence risk-taking behavior and it is particularly felt during adolescence. With artificial intelligence (AI) increasingly present in a range of everyday human contexts, including virtual environments, it is fundamental to examine whether AI can have an impact on human’s decision making processes and behavior. By using the balloon analogue risk task (BART) evaluating propensity to take risk, in this study 115 adolescents' risk-taking behavior was measured when playing alone and in the presence of either a robot avatar or human avatar. In the avatar conditions, participants performed the BART while the avatars either 1) verbally incited risk-taking or 2) discouraged risk-taking (experimental tasks). Risk-taking behavior in the BART was assessed in terms of total number of pumps, gain and explosions. Tendency to impulsivity was also evaluated, as well as the effects of age and gender on risky behavior. The main finding showed a significant effect of both avatars on risk-taking tendency, with riskier behavior during incitement than discouragement conditions, with the moderating effect on risk-taking being more pronounced. The results of this study open up new questions in a very sensitive and timely topic and offer various insights into the effect of nudging on adolescents’ behavior in virtual contexts.
Item Type: | Journal Article | ||||||
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Subjects: | B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GV Recreation Leisure H Social Sciences > HM Sociology Q Science > QA Mathematics > QA76 Electronic computers. Computer science. Computer software R Medicine > RJ Pediatrics |
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Divisions: | Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Science > Psychology | ||||||
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Virtual Bart (Game) , Persuasion (Psychology) -- Computer programs , Human-computer interaction , Risk-taking (Psychology) , Risk-taking (Psychology) in adolescence, Social control, Pressure groups , Avatars (Virtual reality) | ||||||
Journal or Publication Title: | Scientific Reports | ||||||
Publisher: | Nature Publishing Group | ||||||
ISSN: | 2045-2322 | ||||||
Official Date: | 11 July 2023 | ||||||
Dates: |
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Volume: | 13 | ||||||
Number: | 1 | ||||||
Article Number: | 11242 | ||||||
DOI: | 10.1038/s41598-023-38399-w | ||||||
Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||||
Publication Status: | Published | ||||||
Access rights to Published version: | Open Access (Creative Commons) | ||||||
Date of first compliant deposit: | 12 July 2023 | ||||||
Date of first compliant Open Access: | 12 July 2023 |
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