Consumer Behavior

The Effect of Hyper-Realistic Virtual Influencers’ Physical and Mental Humanlikeness on Interpersonal Relationships: Focusing on Self-Disclosure and Humanlike Appearance

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Abstract

Virtual influencers (VIs), digitally created non-human characters, have garnered a significant following on social media in recent years. Incorporating the social penetration theory, anthropomorphism theories, and the mind perception theory, this study investigates how the VI’s humanlike appearance and self-disclosure affect viewers’ trust perceptions and behaviors. A between-subjects online experiment was conducted with female consumers aged 18-40 (n=721). Results indicate that the VI’s humanlike appearance and high self-disclosure increased physical and mental humanlikeness perception, respectively. Furthermore, the effects of mental humanlikeness were more pronounced than those of physical humanlikeness, as its impact on social responses (i.e., closeness, authenticity) was stronger, ultimately leading to relationship and business outcomes. Thus, our findings highlight the significant role of VI’s mental humanlikeness in building trust and relationships with people. The research underscores the importance for brands to partner with and develop VIs that exhibit mental humanlikeness to achieve effective relationship and marketing outcomes.

Keywords: Virtual influencer, Self-disclosure, Social Penetration Theory, Humanlikeness, Authenticity, Trust

How to Cite:

Kim, T., (2025) “The Effect of Hyper-Realistic Virtual Influencers’ Physical and Mental Humanlikeness on Interpersonal Relationships: Focusing on Self-Disclosure and Humanlike Appearance”, International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference Proceedings 81(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/itaa.18625