Psychopragmatic analysis of AI-powered chatbots in mental health support: Can AI understand human pragmatics?
Keywords:
AI bias, Digital therapies, Empathy in AIAbstract
This study investigates the ability of AI-powered chatbots to understand and adapt to human pragmatic utterances in the context of mental health support, addressing a critical gap in the emerging field of digital therapies. With mental health stigma and limited access to professional services driving the adoption of conversational AI, this research employs a psycholinguistic approach to analyze interactions between users and both human therapists and AI chatbots. The study explores politeness strategies, AI bias in pragmatic responses, and the differing perceptions of politeness between users and chatbots. Through a comprehensive psychopragmatic framework, the research assesses 254 chatbot-generated responses, identifying 93 pragmatic violations, and conducts case studies on chatbots like Wysa and Mindfulness Coach. Findings reveal significant limitations in chatbots’ ability to interpret indirect meanings, handle oblique communication, and exhibit empathy, suggesting that psychopragmatic differences between healthy individuals and those with mental disorders render current AI solutions ineffective for therapeutic purposes. The study highlights ethical concerns, proposes improvements in chatbot design, and calls for further research to enhance AI’s pragmatic competence, potentially revolutionizing mental health support accessibility while addressing its current shortcomings.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Marwah Firas Abdullah Al-Rawe, Mustafa Mahdi Jubeir, Meethaq Khamees Khalaf
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