Average check-in and weekly ratings show no significant differences between chatbot conditions, with the Non-Empathetic chatbot often rated as more engaging and useful¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · causal r1 · q2
Currency · newest study 2026 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? The Non-Empathetic chatbot is associated with higher average intention to follow and perceived usefulness, and the Standard chatbot with higher average step count and self-efficacy, but no differences between condition averages reach significance. → Li Siyan 2026

Evidence¶

Li Siyan 2026¶

Li Siyan, Kai-Hui Liang, Shopnil Shahriar, Yilin Ye, Shiyoh Goetsu, Wei-Wei Du, Masahiro Yoshida, Tsunayuki Ohwa, Xuhai Xu, and Zhou Yu. (2026). Invisible Impact of Empathy on Behavioral Change: Isolating the Effect of Empathy in Long-term Physical Activity Coaching Chatbot Interactions. https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.26641 doi:10.48550/arxiv.2606.26641

q2 · i? · causal · r1

Descriptive averages of post-conversation check-in form items across the three chatbot conditions in the six-week within-subject study (N = 13). The article states the "uniformly high ratings limit statistical power" and that "there are no significant differences between the averages"; the printed means are descriptive, so no effect size is available.

"The Non-Empathetic chatbot is associated with higher intention to follow and perceived usefulness, whereas the Standard chatbot shows higher average step count and self-efficacy."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• In a six-week within-subject study, the Empathetic PA coaching chatbot improves intention to follow and self-efficacy faster over time than the Non-Empathetic condition — related
• Starting interaction with the Empathetic chatbot is associated with the least attrition in the six-week study — related
• LLM-annotated empathy dimensions correlate positively with intention to follow, self-efficacy, and chatbot usefulness despite participants not preferring empathetic chatbots — related
• LLM-annotated EPITOME scores show the Non-Empathetic chatbot expresses significantly lower empathy on all three dimensions, while Standard and Empathetic chatbots are not significantly different — related
• Days in the study predict rising step counts but declining intention to follow chatbot advice regardless of empathetic condition — related
• Non-expert participants often fail to notice empathy differences between chatbot versions, so self-reported perceived empathy alone is an unreliable assessment method — related