SILICON SYCOPHANTS - THE EFFECTS OF COMPUTERS THAT FLATTER

A laboratory experiment examines the claims that(1) humans are suscept ible to flattery from computers and (2) the effects of flattery from c omputers are the same as the effects of flattery from humans. In a coo perative task with a computer, subjects (N = 41) received one of three types of feedback from a computer: ''sincere praise'', ''flattery'' ( insincere praise) or ''generic feedback''. Compared to generic-feedbac k subjects, flattery subjects reported more positive affect, better pe rformance, more positive evaluations of the interaction and more posit ive regard for the computer, even though subjects knew that the flatte ry from the computer was simply noncontingent feedback. Subjects in th e sincere praise condition responded similarly to those in the flatter y condition. The study concludes that the effects of flattery from a c omputer can produce the same general effects as flattery from humans, as described in the psychology literature. These findings may suggest significant implications for the design of interactive technologies. ( C) 1997 Academic Press Limited.