Emotional engagement and perceived empathy in live vs. automated psychological interviews.

In clinical in-person conditions, social presence, perceived empathy, and emotional engagement are related to positive outcomes. In online settings, it is unclear how these factors affect outcomes. Here, in 10-15-minute interviews, we investigated the influence of automation. Participants (N = 75) e...

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Main Authors: Thomas J Nyman, Anna-Karin Noromies, Francesco Pompedda, Pekka Santtila, Jan Antfolk
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2025-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0323490
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author Thomas J Nyman
Anna-Karin Noromies
Francesco Pompedda
Pekka Santtila
Jan Antfolk
author_facet Thomas J Nyman
Anna-Karin Noromies
Francesco Pompedda
Pekka Santtila
Jan Antfolk
author_sort Thomas J Nyman
collection DOAJ
description In clinical in-person conditions, social presence, perceived empathy, and emotional engagement are related to positive outcomes. In online settings, it is unclear how these factors affect outcomes. Here, in 10-15-minute interviews, we investigated the influence of automation. Participants (N = 75) engaged in one of three possible interviews: live semi-scripted, live scripted, or video scripted. In the first two, participants communicated with a live interviewer and, in the third, with pre-recorded interviewer questions and answers. Emotion recognition software revealed that expressed joy differed between conditions (χ2(2) = 18.08, p < .001); both live conditions had higher scores (vs. video scripted). Self-rated perceived interviewer empathy also differed between conditions in the same way (F[2, 72] = 9.445, p < 0.001). We found a positive correlation between perceived empathy and expressed joy (r = .35; p < .01). In sum, automatized interviews differed in perceived empathy and expressed emotion compared with live interviews.
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spelling doaj-art-9ae5f16120fd4ba48978d10eadb4d65e2025-08-20T03:08:55ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032025-01-01205e032349010.1371/journal.pone.0323490Emotional engagement and perceived empathy in live vs. automated psychological interviews.Thomas J NymanAnna-Karin NoromiesFrancesco PompeddaPekka SanttilaJan AntfolkIn clinical in-person conditions, social presence, perceived empathy, and emotional engagement are related to positive outcomes. In online settings, it is unclear how these factors affect outcomes. Here, in 10-15-minute interviews, we investigated the influence of automation. Participants (N = 75) engaged in one of three possible interviews: live semi-scripted, live scripted, or video scripted. In the first two, participants communicated with a live interviewer and, in the third, with pre-recorded interviewer questions and answers. Emotion recognition software revealed that expressed joy differed between conditions (χ2(2) = 18.08, p < .001); both live conditions had higher scores (vs. video scripted). Self-rated perceived interviewer empathy also differed between conditions in the same way (F[2, 72] = 9.445, p < 0.001). We found a positive correlation between perceived empathy and expressed joy (r = .35; p < .01). In sum, automatized interviews differed in perceived empathy and expressed emotion compared with live interviews.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0323490
spellingShingle Thomas J Nyman
Anna-Karin Noromies
Francesco Pompedda
Pekka Santtila
Jan Antfolk
Emotional engagement and perceived empathy in live vs. automated psychological interviews.
PLoS ONE
title Emotional engagement and perceived empathy in live vs. automated psychological interviews.
title_full Emotional engagement and perceived empathy in live vs. automated psychological interviews.
title_fullStr Emotional engagement and perceived empathy in live vs. automated psychological interviews.
title_full_unstemmed Emotional engagement and perceived empathy in live vs. automated psychological interviews.
title_short Emotional engagement and perceived empathy in live vs. automated psychological interviews.
title_sort emotional engagement and perceived empathy in live vs automated psychological interviews
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0323490
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