Eliciting User Self-disclosure using Reciprocity in Human-Voicebot Conversations

In this study, we have developed a voicebot which asks users questions about their daily activities and social participation to gain insights into their happiness and well-being. We hypothesize that showing disclosure when asking questions can elicit reciprocity of self-disclosure by the users. We define two types of disclosure: self-disclosure and other-disclosure. Self-disclosure is sharing thoughts, feelings and information about oneself, whereas other-disclosure is sharing information about others and opinions of others. We analyzed 122 answers to the voicebot’s disclosure and control questions by annotating the number of self-disclosure statements in the answers. We found no significant effect of asking disclosure questions on the number of self-disclosure statements. However, we did find a positive effect of asking disclosure questions on common markers of reciprocity such as the number of words, topic phrases, and first-person pronouns. Replication of this study with more participants would strengthen the validity of the findings.