Enhancing Trust in Virtual Characters: The Influence of Familiarity and Varied Eye Contact on Trust in Look-Alike Avatars

In digital environments, establishing trust is crucial for effective interaction between users and virtual agents. This research investigates how different levels of eye contact and avatar familiarity influence perceived trustworthiness in digital avatars across two experiments. In Experiment 1, participants rated avatars with natural, static, and random eye movements on perceived realism and comfort, revealing that natural eye movements significantly enhanced realism. In Experiment 2, participants engaged in a trust game scenario, rating avatars displaying direct, mixed, or no eye contact. Avatars displaying direct or mixed eye contact were rated as significantly more trustworthy than those with no eye contact. While familiarity enhanced perceived trustworthiness, it did not significantly impact behavioral trust decisions in the trust game. These findings emphasize the importance of non-verbal cues and familiarity in shaping perceived trustworthiness, and of eye contact in driving behavioral trust decisions, with implications for trust-critical digital settings like telemedicine, telepresence and e-commerce.