Parasocial Relationship with AI
Psychology: Social & RelationshipsReliability: alpha 0.893 sample items
About this scale
A multi-item measure of one-sided emotional attachment to AI companions (e.g., Replika, Character.AI). Adapts traditional parasocial-relationship research to AI agents.
Sample item(s)
“I feel a personal connection to my AI companion”
“I think about my AI companion when I am not talking to it”
“I would be sad if my AI companion was no longer available”
Reliability
Reported internal consistency: alpha 0.89. As a rule of thumb, Cronbach’s α ≥ .70 is considered acceptable, ≥ .80 good, and ≥ .90 excellent for established measures.
Notes
Increasingly relevant for digital-companion and mental-health-AI research.
Source & citation
Skjuve, M., Følstad, A., Fostervold, K. I., & Brandtzaeg, P. B. (2021): My chatbot companion — a study of human-chatbot relationships. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, Vol. 149, Article 102601.
Skjuve, Følstad, Fostervold & Brandtzaeg (2021): Human–chatbot relationships. IJHCS, 149, 102601.
Source. Scale details are summarised from the publication cited above. Always consult the original source for the full item set, scoring, and permission to use.
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