Role-Taking in Human-Human and Human-AI Interaction
Role-Taking in Human-Human and Human-AI Interaction
Jenny L. Davis, Daniel Shank, Tony P. Love
International Communication Association 2020 Conference, 20 May 2020
This paper is part of a larger project on the social psychology of human-machine interaction, using existing theoretical frameworks to better understand emergent forms of social relations. This presentation focuses on role-taking, using experimental design to determine if people role-take more or less actively when interacting with other humans versus when they are interacting with machines.Role-taking is the process of putting the self in the shoes of another, understanding and/or experiencing the world from the other’s perspective. Role-taking is a structural construct in which people approach each other not just as unique individuals, but as occupants of interrelated social roles that make up a broader social structure. As a holistic concept, role-taking incorporates two psychological dimensions: empathy (feeling with the other) and perspective taking (thinking with the other). Role-taking is foundational to selfhood, interpersonal interaction, and social cohesion. Understanding how role-taking figures into human-machine interaction sheds light on the experiential relationship between humans and AI, including socio-emotional connections and disconnections in human-AI interaction teams.