Following Langer (1992), this article reviews a series of experimental studies that demonstrate that individuals mindlessly apply social rules and expectations to computers. The first set of studies illustrates how individuals overuse human social categories, applying gender stereotypes to computers and ethnically identifying with computer agents. The second set demonstrates that people exhibit overlearned social behaviors such as politeness and reciprocity toward computers. In the third set of studies, premature cognitive commitments are demonstrated: A specialist television set is perceived as providing better content than a generalist television set. A final series of studies demonstrates the depth of social responses with respect to computer "personality." Alternative explanations for these findings, such as anthropomorphism and intentional social responses, cannot explain the results. We conclude with an agenda for future research.Computer users approach the personal computer in many different ways. Experienced word processors move smoothly from keyboard to mouse to menu, mixing prose and commands to the computer automatically; the distinction between the hand and the tool blurs (Heidegger, 1977;Winograd & Flores, 1987). Novices cautiously strike each key, fearing that one false move will initiate an uncontrollable series of unwanted events. Game players view computers as

Chronic media multitasking is quickly becoming ubiquitous, although processing multiple incoming streams of information is considered a challenge for human cognition. A series of experiments addressed whether there are systematic differences in information processing styles between chronically heavy and light media multitaskers. A trait media multitasking index was developed to identify groups of heavy and light media multitaskers. These two groups were then compared along established cognitive control dimensions. Results showed that heavy media multitaskers are more susceptible to interference from irrelevant environmental stimuli and from irrelevant representations in memory. This led to the surprising result that heavy media multitaskers performed worse on a test of task-switching ability, likely due to reduced ability to filter out interference from the irrelevant task set. These results demonstrate that media multitasking, a rapidly growing societal trend, is associated with a distinct approach to fundamental information processing.attention ͉ cognition ͉ executive function ͉ multitasking ͉ working memory

This paper presents a new experimental paradigm for the study of human-computer interaction, Five experiments provide evidence that individuals' interactions with computers are fundamentally social. The studies show that social responses to computers are not the result of conscious beliefs that computers are human or human-like. Moreover, such behaviors do not result from users' ignorance or from psychological or social dysfunctions, nor from a belief that subjects are interacting with programmers. Rather, social responses to computers are commonplace and easy to generate. The results reported here present numerous and unprecedented hypotheses, unexpected implications for design, new approaches to usability testing, and direct methods for verii3cation.

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Would people exhibit similarity-attraction and consistency-attraction toward unambiguously computer-generated speech even when personality is clearly not relevant? In Experiment 1, participants (extrovert or introvert) heard a synthesized voice (extrovert or introvert) on a book-buying Web site. Participants accurately recognized personality cues in text to speech and showed similarity-attraction in their evaluation of the computer voice, the book reviews, and the reviewer. Experiment 2, in a Web auction context, added personality of the text to the previous design. The results replicated Experiment 1 and demonstrated consistency (voice and text personality)-attraction. To maximize liking and trust, designers should set parameters, for example, words per minute or frequency range, that create a personality that is consistent with the user and the content being presented.