Understanding the Importance of Cultural Appropriateness for User Interface Design: An Avatar Study

While previous research established that culture plays an important role in technology adoption, there is only limited work on the role of cultural appropriateness in user interface design for users from a specific background. In this study, we focus on the case of avatar design as a user interface element for facilitating positive user experience. Building on the theoretical lenses of social response theory and the "Computers Are Social Actors" paradigm, we develop a research model to investigate how cultural appropriateness of avatar design is a vital driver for users' trust. We evaluate our research model by means of an online experiment (n = 313) in the context of online health advice for users from Saudi Arabia. The avatars differed in appearance (Arab, non-Arab), gender (male, female), and clothing (athletic, medical, everyday). Our results show that Arab avatars exhibited significantly higher cultural appropriateness than non-Arab avatars. Furthermore, participants were more inclined to select an Arab avatar(88.2%) that matched their gender(77.3%). Confirming the critical role of cultural appropriateness, our study demonstrates the importance of carefully considering the target audience in designing user interfaces.