RUNNING HEAD: Personification in Computer Mediated Communication Personification: Crossover between … 1 Personification: Crossover between Metaphor and Fictional Character in Computer Mediated Communication

Personification: Crossover between … 2 This contribution defines the psychological processing of the artistic, cultural, and communication aspects of agents in information interfaces and characters in media entertainment (i.e. video games) as a new research topic in communication studies and computer science. It offers a theory of what personifications such as (intelligent) adaptive navigation assistants for Web environments can achieve, cognitively and emotionally: Personifications can be user-friendly, be motivating, and suggest ideas but only if their behavior is task-relevant. The personification should not only be more-or-less pertinent to the interface goals or story line but also be adaptive to changes in tasks, personal and business goals, and work processes as these change over time. This paper offers a multiple-meanings theory of metaphoric communication (i.e. personifications) and a general communication model for human-agent interactions. Although a theoretical exploration, it offers methods for empirical verification, blending technical tools from EEG-measurement labs, reaction-time recordings, and structured questionnaires. Personification: Crossover between … 3 Personification: Crossover between Metaphor and Fictional Character in Computer Mediated Communication Communication between humans and computers sometimes seems a battle zone of tragic heroes (us) agains