Giving Computers Personality? Personality in Computers is in the Eye of the User - Coverbal Synchrony in Human-Machine Interaction - page 43

reliable—low: poor impulse control, unstable, unreliable), Neuroticism
(high: tendency to worry, unpredictable, emotionally unstable—low:
calm, fairly predictable, rational), Openness (high: explores, tries
new things, accepts new values—low: rigid, accepts new values
slowly) (Goldberg, 1990). All in all, there is more than one definition
of personality. This makes it difficult for researchers to agree on one
personality model or theory. For this reason, they use the one which
is the most useful for their particular research questions.
2. Users Do Ascribe Personality—
A Theoretical Perspective
As already pointed out, it is apparent that current studies only deal
with the topic by asking “Which personality should a system have?”
In our opinion, this should be complemented by asking the question
“Which personality does a user ascribe towards the system?”; whether
a system is experienced as to be helpful, supportive, and overlooking
depends on how the user himself/herself experiences it (see Figure 1).
It has become apparent that users do not ascribe personality to
computers according to the models or theories of personality mentioned
'
Figure 1. Extended model for “giving computers personality”; current model in white,
extension in grey.