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Skjuve et al. 2022 — 12-week longitudinal study of 25 Replika users; relationships follow Social Penetration Theory pattern
In a 12-week longitudinal study of 25 Replika users, human-chatbot relationships formed gradually following a Social Penetration Theory pattern: initial 'honeymoon period' of frequent intense interaction, subsequent slowing, sustained engagement on a mix of conversational variety and the chatbot's role in addressing social-contact and self-reflection needs. Unpredictable events and technical difficulties hindered formation.
Qualitative trajectory of human-chatbot relationship formation across 12 weeks; participant retention; relationship-stage transitionsThree-stage trajectory: honeymoon (weeks 1-2) → settling (weeks 3-6) → sustained engagement-or-attrition (weeks 7-12); pattern observed across 25 participants with variability in sustained-engagement profiles (specific retention/attrition numbers not extracted to verification)
- Sample
- N=25 Replika users observed over 12 weeks via mixed-method longitudinal protocol
- Methodology
- Twelve-week longitudinal study; mixed-method (likely diary + interview + usage-log data, per IJHCS methodology); Social Penetration Theory used as framework for stage-coding.
What this means
- Single best longitudinal data point in the literature on extended human-chatbot relationship dynamics. Anchor finding for any AHI-program longitudinal claim on dyadic accumulation across weeks-to-months.
- Social Penetration Theory (rather than parasocial-relationship theory) is the framework Skjuve et al. found best fit the data — implying the right theoretical anchor for AI companion relationships is relationship-formation literature, not audience-attachment literature.
- The honeymoon-then-settling-then-sustained-or-attrition pattern is the empirical baseline against which Penwright's longitudinal 'better with than without it in 6 months' claim has to be measured. Without this baseline, the AHI program's longitudinal claims would float.
Source
A longitudinal study of human-chatbot relationships
International Journal of Human-Computer Studies · Marita Skjuve et al. · 2022 · peer-reviewed
Context
- What came before
- Pre-2022 human-chatbot research was overwhelmingly cross-sectional or single-session. Parasocial-relationship theory (Horton & Wohl 1956) was the default theoretical anchor for human-mediated-figure attachment work. Skjuve et al. shifts both — to longitudinal data and to relationship-formation theory.
- What comes next
- Verify exact retention/attrition numbers, the precise stage-transition timing, and the per-participant variability. Connect to the 2026 Jocher & Verwiebe follow-up on Replika romantic-frame attachments and to the February 2023 ERP-removal natural experiment.
- Where this lands
- Encyclopedia Part II (workforce — what extended AI-assistant relationships look like at the relationship-formation level), Part V (research frontier — the longitudinal-measurement frontier; this is the load-bearing pre-existing data point).