USE OF AI IN MHEALTH MOBILE APPLICATIONS: THE INFLUENCE OF VIRTUAL THERAPISTS' VISUAL CHARACTERISTICS ON USER PERCEPTION

Implementing artificial intelligence within the applications for mental health has improved their services. As the most common application, Chatbots that simulate communication with a therapist stand out. With this feature, individuals who shy away from accessing therapy due to the stigma associated with mental health have the opportunity to access therapy without fear of negative feedback. This research aimed to investigate the impact of virtual therapists' visual characteristics on users' reactions. Six characters, created using MetaHuman Creator software and augmented with audio recordings, were evaluated by respondents on parameters such as likability, naturalness of appearance, excitement, positivity, and sense of trustworthiness. Video stimuli were employed to encourage these assessments. Results indicated that the third female character received the highest likability rating, while the first male character was considered the most natural and reliable. The first female character aroused the most incredible excitement and positive feelings. In contrast, the second male character received the lowest ratings across multiple parameters, and the second female character scored poorly overall. Statistical analyses, including T-tests and one-factor ANOVA, revealed no significant variations across characters for most parameters except for excitement. Post hoc tests highlighted notable differences, especially between the second female character, other female characters, and the first male character. Correlation analysis revealed a strong positive relationship between likability and the naturalness of appearance with user trust. These findings underscore the importance of planning virtual therapists' visual characteristics to suit users, revealing interesting observations such as respondents' perceived differences in character voices and the greater attention to detail exhibited by male subjects towards male characters.