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Can a Funny Chatbot Make a Difference? Infusing Humor into Conversational Agent for Behavioral Intervention

Xin Sun, Isabelle Teljeur, Zhuying Li, Jos A. Bosch

TL;DR

Multilevel time series analyses revealed that an affiliative humorous communication style positively impacted physical activity levels over time, with user engagement acting as a mediator in this relationship, whereas motivation did not.

Abstract

Regular physical activity is crucial for reducing the risk of non-communicable disease (NCD). With NCDs on the rise globally, there is an urgent need for effective health interventions, with chatbots emerging as a viable and cost-effective option because of limited healthcare accessibility. Although health professionals often utilize behavior change techniques (BCTs) to boost physical activity levels and enhance client engagement and motivation by affiliative humor, the efficacy of humor in chatbot-delivered interventions is not well-understood. This study conducted a randomized controlled trial to examine the impact of the generative humorous communication style in a 10-day chatbot-delivered intervention for physical activity. It further investigated if user engagement and motivation act as mediators between the communication style and changes in physical activity levels. 66 participants engaged with the chatbots across three groups (humorous, non-humorous, and no-intervention) and responded to daily ecological momentary assessment questionnaires assessing engagement, motivation, and physical activity levels. Multilevel time series analyses revealed that an affiliative humorous communication style positively impacted physical activity levels over time, with user engagement acting as a mediator in this relationship, whereas motivation did not. These findings clarify the role of humorous communication style in chatbot-delivered physical activity interventions, offering valuable insights for future development of intelligent conversational agents incorporating humor.

Can a Funny Chatbot Make a Difference? Infusing Humor into Conversational Agent for Behavioral Intervention

TL;DR

Multilevel time series analyses revealed that an affiliative humorous communication style positively impacted physical activity levels over time, with user engagement acting as a mediator in this relationship, whereas motivation did not.

Abstract

Regular physical activity is crucial for reducing the risk of non-communicable disease (NCD). With NCDs on the rise globally, there is an urgent need for effective health interventions, with chatbots emerging as a viable and cost-effective option because of limited healthcare accessibility. Although health professionals often utilize behavior change techniques (BCTs) to boost physical activity levels and enhance client engagement and motivation by affiliative humor, the efficacy of humor in chatbot-delivered interventions is not well-understood. This study conducted a randomized controlled trial to examine the impact of the generative humorous communication style in a 10-day chatbot-delivered intervention for physical activity. It further investigated if user engagement and motivation act as mediators between the communication style and changes in physical activity levels. 66 participants engaged with the chatbots across three groups (humorous, non-humorous, and no-intervention) and responded to daily ecological momentary assessment questionnaires assessing engagement, motivation, and physical activity levels. Multilevel time series analyses revealed that an affiliative humorous communication style positively impacted physical activity levels over time, with user engagement acting as a mediator in this relationship, whereas motivation did not. These findings clarify the role of humorous communication style in chatbot-delivered physical activity interventions, offering valuable insights for future development of intelligent conversational agents incorporating humor.
Paper Structure (30 sections, 9 figures, 3 tables)

This paper contains 30 sections, 9 figures, 3 tables.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Related Work
  3. Behavioral Change Techniques and Humorous Communication Style in Behavioral Intervention
  4. Humor in Chatbot-delivered Intervention for Behavioral Change
  5. Study Method
  6. Participants
  7. Materials
  8. Conversational Design with BCTs for Physical Activity Intervention
  9. Technical Implementation of Chatbot and Humors
  10. Measures
  11. Pre-survey.
  12. User Engagement.
  13. The Motivation to Change Physical Activity Questionnaire - Short Form (MCPAQ-SF).
  14. Daily Physical Activity (Step Count).
  15. Manipulation Check.
  16. ...and 15 more sections

Figures (9)

  • Figure 1: Mediation Model. User engagement (H2a) and motivation (H2b) serve as mediators in the relationship between (humorous) communication style and physical activity levels (Hypothesis 2).
  • Figure 2: The Overview of the Study Design.
  • Figure 3: An example of the conversation based on BCT "Goal Setting" with Non-humorous vs. Humorous communication style.
  • Figure 4: Components in the chatbot and the approach utilized to implement the Non-humorous vs. Humorous communication style in the chatbot.
  • Figure 5: Illustration of the 10-Day Study Progression.
  • ...and 4 more figures