{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,4]],"date-time":"2026-05-04T03:10:58Z","timestamp":1777864258776,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":57,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,30]],"date-time":"2026-04-30T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1777507200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Psychol."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>As AI-generated characters become increasingly present in everyday emotional and romantic contexts, questions arise about whether they may begin to occupy relational space traditionally reserved for human partners. This study examines how character style (operationalized as holistic character conditions, each combining a distinct visual rendering, voice, and character background settings) and participant gender shape initial romantic evaluations of AI-generated and real human targets across four relational dimensions: Trust, Intimacy, Passion, and Commitment.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A 4 (Character Style: 2D Anime, 3D Cartoon, Highly Humanoid, Real Human)\u202f\u00d7\u202f2 (Participant Gender: Female, Male) mixed-design experiment was conducted with 134 Generation Z participants (72 female, 62 male; mean age\u202f=\u202f19.91). Each participant viewed 30-s multimodal video introductions of four opposite-sex targets and rated them on a 12-item instrument adapted from automation trust scales and Sternberg\u2019s Triangular Love Scale.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The results reveal two distinct patterns. On the foundational relational dimensions of Trust and Commitment, real human targets were generally rated higher than AI-generated conditions. For Trust, the real human target was rated significantly higher than all three AI conditions. For Commitment, this advantage was significant relative to the 3D Cartoon and Highly Humanoid conditions, but not relative to the 2D Anime condition. No significant Character Style \u00d7 Gender interaction was found for either dimension, supporting the view that AI characters do not readily approach the relational standing of real humans on these judgments under brief initial exposure. On the affective engagement dimensions of Intimacy and Passion, significant Character Style \u00d7 Gender interactions emerged: female participants reported elevated intimacy specifically toward 2D Anime targets, while male participants reported elevated passion specifically toward Highly Humanoid targets.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Discussion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>These findings suggest that the relational boundary between AI-generated and real human targets is dimension-specific rather than absolute \u2014 firmly held on trust, largely maintained on commitment, but more permeable on intimacy and passion. The study contributes a cross-disciplinary measurement framework that integrates HCI trust assessment with relationship psychology, and reveals a pattern of dimensional separation in which affective engagement dimensions can shift independently of foundational relational dimensions.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1819889","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,30]],"date-time":"2026-04-30T05:39:02Z","timestamp":1777527542000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Character style and relational judgments in human\u2013AI romance: trust, commitment, intimacy, and passion"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Jin","family":"Niu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Literature and Media, Dongguan University of Technology","place":["Dongguan, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Weijiang","family":"She","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Communication Engineering, Shenzhen City Polytechnic","place":["Shenzhen, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Wenting","family":"Cheng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Literature and Media, Dongguan University of Technology","place":["Dongguan, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Xiao","family":"Dou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Visual Communication Design, Guangdong Polytechnic Normal University","place":["Guangzhou, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Xueqin","family":"Jia","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Guangdong University of Science and Technology","place":["Dongguan, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,30]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"21","DOI":"10.1177\/0265407592091002","article-title":"Intimacy, passion and commitment in adult romantic relationships: a test of the triangular theory of love","volume":"9","author":"Acker","year":"1992","journal-title":"J. Soc. Pers. Relat."},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"256","DOI":"10.1037\/0033-2909.111.2.256","article-title":"Thin slices of expressive behavior as predictors of interpersonal consequences: a meta-analysis","volume":"111","author":"Ambady","year":"1992","journal-title":"Psychol. Bull."},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"102694","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijhcs.2021.102694","article-title":"Almost human? A comparative case study on the social media presence of virtual influencers","volume":"155","author":"Arsenyan","year":"2021","journal-title":"Int. J. Hum.-Comput. Stud."},{"key":"ref4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"A03","DOI":"10.22323\/2.24020203","article-title":"Balancing realism and trust: AI avatars in science communication","volume":"24","author":"Baake","year":"2025","journal-title":"J. Sci. Commun."},{"key":"ref5","volume-title":"MIT Case Studies in Social and Ethical Responsibilities of Computing","author":"Boine","year":"2023"},{"key":"ref6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1052","DOI":"10.1002\/mar.21480","article-title":"The most human bot: female gendering increases humanness perceptions of bots and acceptance of AI","volume":"38","author":"Borau","year":"2021","journal-title":"Psychol. Mark."},{"key":"ref7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"247","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jretconser.2010.11.005","article-title":"Customer intimacy and commitment to relationships with firms in five different sectors: preliminary evidence","volume":"18","author":"B\u00fcgel","year":"2011","journal-title":"J. Retail. Consum. Serv."},{"key":"ref8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1054","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jrp.2007.01.004","article-title":"A thin slice perspective on the accuracy of first impressions","volume":"41","author":"Carney","year":"2007","journal-title":"J. Res. Pers."},{"key":"ref9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"114982","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jbusres.2024.114982","article-title":"Will users fall in love with ChatGPT? A perspective from the triangular theory of love","volume":"186","author":"Chen","year":"2025","journal-title":"J. Bus. Res."},{"key":"ref10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"833","DOI":"10.1007\/978-981-4560-50-4_15","volume-title":"Handbook of Digital Games and Entertainment Technologies","author":"Cheok","year":"2017"},{"key":"ref11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-319-94730-3","volume-title":"Human-Robot Intimate Relationships","author":"Cheok","year":"2019"},{"key":"ref12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.17645\/mac.8662","article-title":"Parasocial interactions in Otome games: emotional engagement and parasocial intimacy among Chinese female players","volume":"13","author":"Gao","year":"2025","journal-title":"Media Commun."},{"key":"ref13","volume-title":"Statistical Analysis in JASP: A guide for Students","author":"Goss-Sampson","year":"2019"},{"key":"ref14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"113863","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jbusres.2023.113863","article-title":"I am attracted to my cool smart assistant! Analyzing attachment-aversion in AI-human relationships","volume":"161","author":"Guerreiro","year":"2023","journal-title":"J. Bus. Res."},{"key":"ref15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"103409","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijhcs.2024.103409","article-title":"Are lonely youngsters turning to chatbots for companionship? The relationship between chatbot usage and social connectedness in Danish high-school students","volume":"196","author":"Herbener","year":"2025","journal-title":"Int. J. Hum.-Comput. Stud."},{"key":"ref16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"100715","DOI":"10.1016\/j.chbr.2025.100715","article-title":"Potential and pitfalls of romantic artificial intelligence (AI) companions: a systematic review","volume":"19","author":"Ho","year":"2025","journal-title":"Comput. Hum. Behav. Rep."},{"key":"ref17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"407","DOI":"10.1177\/0018720814547570","article-title":"Trust in automation: integrating empirical evidence on factors that influence trust","volume":"57","author":"Hoff","year":"2015","journal-title":"Hum. Factors"},{"key":"ref18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"215","DOI":"10.1080\/00332747.1956.11023049","article-title":"Mass communication and Para-social interaction: observations on intimacy at a distance","volume":"19","author":"Horton","year":"1956","journal-title":"Psychiatry"},{"key":"ref19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1037\/ppm0000636","article-title":"Personality meets the machine: traits and attributes in human\u2013artificial intelligence intimate interactions","author":"Huang","year":"2025","journal-title":"Psychol. Pop. Media."},{"key":"ref20","article-title":"JASP (Version 0.19.2) [Computer software]","year":"2024"},{"key":"ref21","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"53","DOI":"10.1207\/S15327566IJCE0401_04","article-title":"Foundations for an empirically determined scale of trust in automated systems","volume":"4","author":"Jian","year":"2000","journal-title":"Int. J. Cogn. Ergon."},{"key":"ref22","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"575427","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2020.575427","article-title":"Fictosexuality, fictoromance, and fictophilia: a qualitative study of love and desire for fictional characters","volume":"11","author":"Karhulahti","year":"2020","journal-title":"Front. Psychol."},{"key":"ref23","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"600","DOI":"10.1111\/bjso.12564","article-title":"Virtually in love: the role of anthropomorphism in virtual romantic relationships","volume":"62","author":"Koike","year":"2023","journal-title":"Br. J. Soc. Psychol."},{"key":"ref24","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1580826","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2025.1580826","article-title":"Depression and the use of conversational AI for companionship among college students: the mediating role of loneliness and the moderating effects of gender and mind perception","volume":"13","author":"Lai","year":"2025","journal-title":"Front. Public Health"},{"key":"ref25","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"102608","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijhcs.2021.102608","article-title":"Social interactions and relationships with an intelligent virtual agent","volume":"150","author":"Lee","year":"2021","journal-title":"Int. J. Hum. Comput. Stud."},{"key":"ref26","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"107620","DOI":"10.1016\/j.chb.2022.107620","article-title":"Loving a \"defiant\" AI companion? The gender performance and ethics of social exchange robots in simulated intimate interactions","volume":"141","author":"Leo-Liu","year":"2023","journal-title":"Comput. Hum. Behav."},{"key":"ref27","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.48550\/arXiv.2601.12871","article-title":"Measuring love toward AI: development and validation of the love attitudes scale toward artificial intelligence (LAS-AI)","author":"Li","year":"2026","journal-title":"arXiv"},{"key":"ref28","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"zmae015","DOI":"10.1093\/jcmc\/zmae015","article-title":"Finding love in algorithms: deciphering the emotional contexts of close encounters with AI chatbots","volume":"29","author":"Li","year":"2024","journal-title":"J. Comput. Mediat. Commun."},{"key":"ref29","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"473","DOI":"10.5465\/amr.1998.926622","article-title":"Initial trust formation in new organizational relationships","volume":"23","author":"McKnight","year":"1998","journal-title":"Acad. Manag. Rev."},{"key":"ref30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"166","DOI":"10.4135\/9781452243610.n9","volume-title":"Trust in Organizations: Frontiers of Theory and Research","author":"Meyerson","year":"1996"},{"key":"ref31","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"10","DOI":"10.1068\/i0415","article-title":"A mismatch in the human realism of face and voice produces an uncanny valley","volume":"2","author":"Mitchell","year":"2011","journal-title":"i-Perception"},{"key":"ref32","first-page":"33","article-title":"The uncanny valley","volume":"7","author":"Mori","year":"1970","journal-title":"Energy"},{"key":"ref33","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/14614448251395192","article-title":"Cruel companionship: how AI companions exploit loneliness and commodify intimacy","author":"Muldoon","year":"2025","journal-title":"New Media Soc."},{"key":"ref34","first-page":"1","author":"Nass","year":"1999"},{"key":"ref35","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"876972","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2022.876972","article-title":"Designing gestures of robots in specific fields for different perceived personality traits","volume":"13","author":"Niu","year":"2022","journal-title":"Front. Psychol."},{"key":"ref36","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"60888","DOI":"10.1109\/ACCESS.2023.3286570","article-title":"Intelligent attributes of voice assistants and user's love for AI: a SEM-based study","volume":"11","author":"Pal","year":"","journal-title":"IEEE Access"},{"key":"ref37","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"107788","DOI":"10.1016\/j.chb.2023.107788","article-title":"What affects the usage of artificial conversational agents? An agent personality and love theory perspective","volume":"145","author":"Pal","year":"","journal-title":"Comput. Human Behav."},{"key":"ref38","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"17","DOI":"10.1007\/s10458-021-09539-1","article-title":"Designing empathic virtual agents: manipulating animation, voice, rendering, and empathy to create persuasive agents","volume":"36","author":"Parmar","year":"2022","journal-title":"Auton. Agent. Multi-Agent Syst."},{"key":"ref39","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"107600","DOI":"10.1016\/j.chb.2022.107600","article-title":"Exploring relationship development with social chatbots: a mixed-method study of Replika","volume":"140","author":"Pentina","year":"2023","journal-title":"Comput. Human Behav."},{"key":"ref40","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"65","DOI":"10.1007\/s12193-020-00337-9","article-title":"Virtual intimacy in human-embodied conversational agent interactions: the influence of multimodality on its perception","volume":"15","author":"Potdevin","year":"2021","journal-title":"J. Multimodal User Interfaces"},{"key":"ref41","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"102610","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jretconser.2021.102610","article-title":"Alexafying shoppers: the examination of Amazon's captive relationship strategy","volume":"62","author":"Ramadan","year":"2021","journal-title":"J. Retail. Consum. Serv."},{"key":"ref42","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"95","DOI":"10.1037\/0022-3514.49.1.95","article-title":"Trust in close relationships","volume":"49","author":"Rempel","year":"1985","journal-title":"J. Pers. Soc. Psychol."},{"key":"ref43","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"191","DOI":"10.1007\/978-1-4899-7668-0_10","volume-title":"Robust Intelligence and Trust in Autonomous Systems","author":"Schaefer","year":"2016"},{"key":"ref44","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"404","DOI":"10.1093\/hcr\/hqac008","article-title":"My AI friend: how users of a social chatbot understand their human\u2013AI friendship","volume":"48","author":"Skjuve","year":"2022","journal-title":"Hum. Commun. Res."},{"key":"ref45","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"103595","DOI":"10.1016\/j.im.2022.103595","article-title":"Can people experience romantic love for artificial intelligence? An empirical study of intelligent assistants","volume":"59","author":"Song","year":"2022","journal-title":"Inf. Manag."},{"key":"ref46","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"595","DOI":"10.2307\/353741","article-title":"Assessing commitment in personal relationships","volume":"54","author":"Stanley","year":"1992","journal-title":"J. Marriage Fam."},{"key":"ref47","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"119","DOI":"10.1037\/0033-295X.93.2.119","article-title":"A triangular theory of love","volume":"93","author":"Sternberg","year":"1986","journal-title":"Psychol. Rev."},{"key":"ref48","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"313","DOI":"10.1002\/(SICI)1099-0992(199705)27:3<313::AID-EJSP824>3.0.CO;2-4","article-title":"Construct validation of a triangular love scale","volume":"27","author":"Sternberg","year":"1997","journal-title":"Eur. J. Soc. Psychol."},{"key":"ref49","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"864676","DOI":"10.3389\/frvir.2022.864676","article-title":"The effect of virtual human rendering style on user perceptions of visual cues","volume":"3","author":"Stuart","year":"2022","journal-title":"Front. Virtual Reality"},{"key":"ref50","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"398","DOI":"10.1109\/T-AFFC.2012.31","article-title":"Robots, love, and sex: the ethics of building a love machine","volume":"3","author":"Sullins","year":"2012","journal-title":"IEEE Trans. Affect. Comput."},{"key":"ref51","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1624975","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2025.1624975","article-title":"Impact of virtual avatar appearance realism on perceptual interaction experience: a network meta-analysis","volume":"16","author":"Tao","year":"2025","journal-title":"Front. Psychol."},{"key":"ref52","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"249","DOI":"10.1037\/gpr0000046","article-title":"Trust: an integrative review from a person\u2013situation perspective","volume":"19","author":"Thielmann","year":"2015","journal-title":"Rev. Gen. Psychol."},{"key":"ref53","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"868","DOI":"10.1093\/joc\/jqaa034","article-title":"Antecedents and effects of parasocial relationships: a meta-analysis","volume":"70","author":"Tukachinsky","year":"2020","journal-title":"J. Commun."},{"key":"ref54","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1037","DOI":"10.3390\/bs15081037","article-title":"Teens, tech, and talk: adolescents' use of and emotional reactions to Snapchat's my AI chatbot","volume":"15","author":"Vanhoffelen","year":"2025","journal-title":"Behav. Sci."},{"key":"ref55","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"359","DOI":"10.1177\/17427150211056738","article-title":"The development and disruption of relationships between leaders and organizational members and the importance of trust","volume":"18","author":"Wilson","year":"2022","journal-title":"Leadership"},{"key":"ref56","first-page":"2046","author":"Xie","year":"2022"},{"key":"ref57","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"806","DOI":"10.1108\/JOSM-02-2022-0072","article-title":"Friend, mentor, lover: does chatbot engagement lead to psychological dependence?","volume":"34","author":"Xie","year":"2023","journal-title":"J. Serv. Manag."}],"container-title":["Frontiers in Psychology"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1819889\/full","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,30]],"date-time":"2026-04-30T05:39:04Z","timestamp":1777527544000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1819889\/full"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,30]]},"references-count":57,"alternative-id":["10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1819889"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1819889","relation":{},"ISSN":["1664-1078"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1664-1078","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,30]]},"article-number":"1819889"}}