Giving Computers Personality? Personality in Computers is in the Eye of the User - Coverbal Synchrony in Human-Machine Interaction - page 45

the socket.
2. Design/functional stance: In the functional stance, explanations
and predictions are based upon knowledge or presumptions of
the system's construction plan and its functional components.
In this stance, predictions are based on the assumption that
the chess computer has a certain design (is programmed in a
certain way) and will act as it is designed (programmed) to
do under certain circumstances. So you will be able to predict
the countermoves of the computer for each of your moves by
knowing the programmed tactics of the program. Predictions will
be accurate on the condition that the computer functions without
any bugs. In this stance, you ignore the actual physical condition
or inner stance of the computer. This stance is generally adopted
to predict the behavior of mechanical objects. For example, you
will be able to predict when an alarm clock will ring by exploring
the exterior, without needing to know if it works by battery or
solar energy, or if it is made of brass wheels or silicon chips.
3. Intentional stance: Explanations and predictions during this stance
are based upon the presumption that the system acts rationally:
it holds certain information, pursues certain goals, and chooses
a behavioral pattern based on that particular background
which is rational and appropriate to the situation. This means
that humans ascribe intentional states towards the system
such as hopes, worries, perceptions, emotions, etc. Therefore,
the system becomes an intentional system. It undergoes an
anthropomorphization process within its user. In this stance,
you would explain and predict the moves of the chess computer,
for example, by its desire to win. This stance is adopted if a
system is organized, seems to be optimally constructed and
the predictions of its behavior in physical or design stances are
not feasible because of its complexity. For example, if you see a
person (a complex biological system) waving on the other side
of the street, you can hardly explain this behavior on a physical
or design stance but only on an intentional stance, as his/her
wish to greet someone.
2.2 Examples of other theories dealing
with the ascription of mental states
There are theoretical concepts, mainly in psychology, which deal with
the ascriptions of thoughts, emotions, aims, personality traits, and
so on. Amongst these the concept of mentalization is very popular.
It is akin to research of theory of mind (Fonagy et al., 2002) and is