Abstract:

Virtual humans are digital characters created in computer graphics software that take a first-person view of the world and have a social media presence. Compared with real humans, however, are people likely to attribute moral responsibility differently to virtual humans when they do something morally wrong? This important empirical question remains unanswered. Therefore, we addressed this query using Mental Perception Theory. We did so through exploring the influence and mechanism of cultural differences between China and the West on individuals’ moral responsibility judgments of virtual humans versus real humans. Findings revealed that, when virtual humans engaged in immoral behaviors—irrespective of whether real humans or artificial intelligence (AI) controlled them—people in China (vs. the West) attributed more moral responsibility to virtual humans but equal moral responsibility to real humans (Study 1a~1c). Perceived mental capacity, especially perceived experience, mediated the interaction effect of the culture differences (Study 2). Furthermore, compared with Westerners, Chinese people were more likely to punish virtual (vs. real) humans, such as by no longer following their social accounts (Study 3). The current research provided evidence for the cultural differences between Chinese people and Westerners on moral responsibility judgments of virtual humans and contributed to literature on cultural differences and the theory about moral judgments on non-human entities.

Key words: virtual humans, moral responsibility, cultural differences, mental capacity