Computer apology: the effect of the apologetic feedback on users in computerized environment

Apologizing or praising has various effects on people´s motivation levels. One way to employ emotions in computerized environments is to present humanized messages like apologetic statements. In this study, a game offering apologetic statements for a group of subjects was used to understand the effect of apologetic statements in computerized environment. Findings have shown that the apologetic feedbacks made the subjects feel more respected, more comfortable, and more sensitive to their feelings. These findings confirm the legitimacy of the claim that computers´ offering apologetic statements to the users can realize the real user-centered design.