Sensitive to the Digital Touch? Exploring Sensory Processing Sensitivity and Its Impact on Anthropomorphized Products in E-Commerce
Lingyao Yuan, Jordan B. Barlow · Proceedings of the ... Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences/Proceedings of the Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences · 2021
Individual characteristics have a strong impact on people’s decision making and behaviors in virtual environments, including interacting with virtual agents, avatars, or animated objects. Prior IS research on individual characteristics has mostly focused on constructs such as the Big Five personality traits, emotional intelligence, and social sensitivity to categorize individuals on a high level. However, we believe how individuals receive, process, and react to sensory information at the basic level is critical for developing perceptions towards humanized objects through the process of anthropomorphism. This study explores sensory processing sensitivity as an inherent individual characteristic and its impact on individuals’ bidding decision towards humanized products in online auctions. Results show that people’s sensory processing sensitivity has a positive impact on their willingness to pay. This positive relationship is fully mediated by perceived anthropomorphism towards the products.