The researchers — Saraswathi Bellur, PhD, a communication researcher at Storrs-based University of Connecticut and S. Shyam Sundar, PhD, a communications researcher at University Park, Pa.-based Pennsylvania State University — identified 172 undergraduate students for the study. The students were assigned to one of six health risk assessment websites, which ranged in degree of conversational tone.
The students who experienced an interactive website with “back-and-forth” communication were more likely to follow the lifestyle choices the tool suggested. “This shows that delivering information on health risks through dialogue can help users get engaged with the tool and may positively affect their health,” Dr. Sundar said.
However, students who used websites with very conversational tones experienced a negative side effect — a false sense of comfort. When websites used informal prompts, such as “Mm-hmm,” users felt less susceptible to health risks.
“This conversational tone may make them warm and fuzzy, but that’s not what you want to do with a health assessment tool,” Dr. Bellur said. “If you want people to stand up and take action, this type of friendly turn-taking softens the effect.”
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