From Stigma to Acceptance: Ethical Implications of Anthropomorphic Design in Healthcare Chatbots.
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| Title: | From Stigma to Acceptance: Ethical Implications of Anthropomorphic Design in Healthcare Chatbots. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Chen, Fangyuan1 (AUTHOR) fangyuanchen@um.edu.mo, Pang, Yuting2 (AUTHOR) 12020026@zju.edu.cn, Wang, Lili3,4 (AUTHOR) lw122@zju.edu.cn |
| Source: | Journal of Business Ethics. Jan2026, Vol. 203 Issue 3, p507-529. 23p. |
| Subject Terms: | Chatbots, Care ethics (Philosophy), Social stigma, Social acceptance, Health care industry, Judgment (Psychology), Anthropomorphism |
| Abstract: | Demand for healthcare chatbots has surged in recent years, with companies and governments actively investing in this technology. Drawing on care ethics and technology anthropomorphism literature, this research examines how businesses can design chatbots to provide more supportive healthcare services. Specifically, we explore how anthropomorphic features affect user perceptions and their willingness to adopt chatbots, particularly in the context of stigmatized health conditions. Across six experiments, including a Facebook advertising study, we find that, when consumers perceive the target health condition as highly stigmatized, they are more likely to adopt a robot-like chatbot than a human-like one. This preference arises from the belief that human-like chatbots are more likely to make social judgments, which is undesirable for consumers facing stigma. Supporting this social judgment threat mechanism, we find that this effect diminishes when the human-like chatbot lacks facial features. Our findings advance technology anthropomorphism research by showing how design choices affect chatbot adoption in sensitive contexts. By integrating care ethics, we emphasize the need for empathetic, non-judgmental design in digital health technologies. This research also contributes to stigma research, showing how thoughtful chatbot design can reduce stigma-driven disengagement. Practically, we provide actionable guidance for designers and policymakers, urging them to tailor chatbot features to the needs of stigmatized users to ensure inclusivity. Our research highlights the ethical responsibility of marketers to design technologies that reduce, rather than reinforce, stigma, thus contributing to a broader discourse on business ethics in technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Journal of Business Ethics is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Education Research Complete |
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| Header | DbId: ehh DbLabel: Education Research Complete An: 190856463 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: From Stigma to Acceptance: Ethical Implications of Anthropomorphic Design in Healthcare Chatbots. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Chen%2C+Fangyuan%22">Chen, Fangyuan</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> fangyuanchen@um.edu.mo</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Pang%2C+Yuting%22">Pang, Yuting</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> 12020026@zju.edu.cn</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Wang%2C+Lili%22">Wang, Lili</searchLink><relatesTo>3,4</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> lw122@zju.edu.cn</i> – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Journal+of+Business+Ethics%22">Journal of Business Ethics</searchLink>. Jan2026, Vol. 203 Issue 3, p507-529. 23p. – Name: Subject Label: Subject Terms Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Chatbots%22">Chatbots</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Care+ethics+%28Philosophy%29%22">Care ethics (Philosophy)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+stigma%22">Social stigma</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+acceptance%22">Social acceptance</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Health+care+industry%22">Health care industry</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Judgment+%28Psychology%29%22">Judgment (Psychology)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Anthropomorphism%22">Anthropomorphism</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: Demand for healthcare chatbots has surged in recent years, with companies and governments actively investing in this technology. Drawing on care ethics and technology anthropomorphism literature, this research examines how businesses can design chatbots to provide more supportive healthcare services. Specifically, we explore how anthropomorphic features affect user perceptions and their willingness to adopt chatbots, particularly in the context of stigmatized health conditions. Across six experiments, including a Facebook advertising study, we find that, when consumers perceive the target health condition as highly stigmatized, they are more likely to adopt a robot-like chatbot than a human-like one. This preference arises from the belief that human-like chatbots are more likely to make social judgments, which is undesirable for consumers facing stigma. Supporting this social judgment threat mechanism, we find that this effect diminishes when the human-like chatbot lacks facial features. Our findings advance technology anthropomorphism research by showing how design choices affect chatbot adoption in sensitive contexts. By integrating care ethics, we emphasize the need for empathetic, non-judgmental design in digital health technologies. This research also contributes to stigma research, showing how thoughtful chatbot design can reduce stigma-driven disengagement. Practically, we provide actionable guidance for designers and policymakers, urging them to tailor chatbot features to the needs of stigmatized users to ensure inclusivity. Our research highlights the ethical responsibility of marketers to design technologies that reduce, rather than reinforce, stigma, thus contributing to a broader discourse on business ethics in technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Journal of Business Ethics is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
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| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1007/s10551-025-06052-3 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 23 StartPage: 507 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Chatbots Type: general – SubjectFull: Care ethics (Philosophy) Type: general – SubjectFull: Social stigma Type: general – SubjectFull: Social acceptance Type: general – SubjectFull: Health care industry Type: general – SubjectFull: Judgment (Psychology) Type: general – SubjectFull: Anthropomorphism Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: From Stigma to Acceptance: Ethical Implications of Anthropomorphic Design in Healthcare Chatbots. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Chen, Fangyuan – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Pang, Yuting – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Wang, Lili IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 21 M: 01 Text: Jan2026 Type: published Y: 2026 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 01674544 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 203 – Type: issue Value: 3 Titles: – TitleFull: Journal of Business Ethics Type: main |
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