Dual Drivers of Emotional and Efficiency Needs: A Study of Group Differences in AI Chat Dependency Behavior

Mingzhen Liu

2025

Abstract

Users increasingly perceive AI chatbots not merely as functional tools but as emotional companions. This study proposes a 'demand-behavior' dual-path model to examine the formation mechanisms and group heterogeneity of AI chatbot dependence, revealing how emotional compensation and efficiency enhancement synergistically operate, while identifying behavioral variation causes through cross-group analysis. This study mainly employed a questionnaire survey to collect data on user interactions with AI chatbots, analyzing motivations, engagement frequency, and contextual usage patterns. The study found that, first, emotional and efficiency needs were the primary drivers of user reliance on AI chatbots; second, AI chatbots boosted work efficiency but might also cause anxiety from over-reliance. Third, dependence levels and demand focus varied significantly across user groups. This study proposed a novel framework explaining the emotional mechanisms and efficiency pursuits in human-AI interaction, while offering practical insights for promoting rational chatbot use and mitigating associated risks.

Paper Citation

in Harvard Style

Liu M. (2025). Dual Drivers of Emotional and Efficiency Needs: A Study of Group Differences in AI Chat Dependency Behavior. In Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Public Relations and Media Communication - Volume 1: PRMC; ISBN 978-989-758-778-8, SciTePress, pages 448-455. DOI: 10.5220/0013993100004916

in Bibtex Style

@conference{prmc25,
author={Mingzhen Liu},
title={Dual Drivers of Emotional and Efficiency Needs: A Study of Group Differences in AI Chat Dependency Behavior},
booktitle={Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Public Relations and Media Communication - Volume 1: PRMC},
year={2025},
pages={448-455},
publisher={SciTePress},
organization={INSTICC},
doi={10.5220/0013993100004916},
isbn={978-989-758-778-8},
}

in EndNote Style

TY - CONF

JO - Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Public Relations and Media Communication - Volume 1: PRMC
TI - Dual Drivers of Emotional and Efficiency Needs: A Study of Group Differences in AI Chat Dependency Behavior
SN - 978-989-758-778-8
AU - Liu M.
PY - 2025
SP - 448
EP - 455
DO - 10.5220/0013993100004916
PB - SciTePress