Exploring Effects of Chatbot-based Social Contact on Reducing Mental Illness Stigma

Chatbots have been designed to provide interventions in mental healthcare. However, how chatbot-based social contact can mitigate social stigma in mental illness remains under-explored. We designed two chatbots that deliver either first-person or third-person narratives about mental illness and evaluated them using a mixed methods study. Compared to a web survey group, participants in both chatbot groups decreased their beliefs that individuals are personally responsible for their mental illnesses, and increased their intentions to help. Additionally, participants in the first-person chatbot group showed a reduced level of fear, and a lower desire for social distance from people with mental illness. Many in the first-person chatbot group also reported a feeling of relationship with the chatbot, and chose to phrase their responses empathetically. Results demonstrated that chatbot-based social contact has promising potential for mitigating mental illness stigma. Implications for designing chatbot-based social contact are discussed.