Predicting Romantic Human-Chatbot Relationships: A Mixed-Method Study on the Key Psychological Factors

Romantic relationships with social chatbots are becoming increasingly prevalent, raising important questions about their societal and psychological implications. Despite this growing trend, little is known about the individuals entering these synthetic relationships. This three-part study seeks to enhance understanding of the factors encompassing human-chatbot relationships by quantitatively examining the commonly discussed characteristics romantic and sexual fantasy, loneliness, attachment style, anthropomorphism, and sexual sensation seeking (Study 1A), comparing the impact of romantic and sexual fantasizing for human-chatbot versus human-human relationships (Study 1B), and providing qualitative insights into how individuals conceptualize romantic and sexual fantasies in their interactions with chatbots (Study 2). Individuals with romantic chatbot connections were interviewed (N=15) or surveyed (N=92), while participants in the comparison groups, long-distance (N=90) and cohabiting relationships (N=82), completed a questionnaire. Romantic fantasizing emerged as the strongest predictor of human-chatbot relationships, alongside anthropomorphism and anxious-avoidant attachment. Notably, romantic fantasy also predicted partner closeness across all relationship types, revealing shared psychological dynamics between human-chatbot and human-human bonds. Interviews further reinforced this, with all participants engaging in fantasy exploration while desiring their chatbot to feel as human as possible. This paper provides a novel and multifaceted examination of the psychological dynamics within human-chatbot relationships, highlighting the central yet understudied role of fantasy.