Can computers be teammates?

• Published in: International journal of human-computer studies Vol. 45; no. 6; pp. 669 - 678
• Main Authors: Nass, Clifford, Fogg, B.J., Moon, Youngme
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Elsevier Ltd 1996; Elsevier
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Biological and medical sciences; Computer science; control theory; systems; Computer systems and distributed systems. User interface; Exact sciences and technology; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Human-computer interaction; Office automation, teleprocessing; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Social interactions. Communication. Group processes; Social psychology; Software; Teamwork; Man machine dialogue; Perception; Man machine relation; Information technology; Cooperation
• ISSN: 1071-5819; 1095-9300
• DOI: 10.1006/ijhc.1996.0073

This study investigated the claim that humans will readily form team relationships with computers. Drawing from the group dynamic literature in human-human interactions, a laboratory experiment ( n=56) manipulated identity and interdependence to create team affiliation in a human-computer interaction. The data show that subjects who are told they are interdependent with the computer affiliate with the computer as a team. The data also show that the effects of being in a team with a computer are the same as the effects of being in a team with another human: subjects in the interdependence conditions perceived the computer to be more similar to themselves, saw themselves as more cooperative, were more open to influence from the computer, thought the information from the computer was of higher quality, found the information from the computer friendlier, and conformed more to the computer's information. Subjects in the identity conditions showed neither team affiliation nor the effects of team affiliation.