Users feel less authentic but emotionally helped by AI reframing tools
Rewriting the Self: User Perceptions of AI-Mediated Cognitive Reframing
Human-Computer Interaction
Summary
People are using AI to help change how they think about negative experiences, like turning "I failed" into "I am learning." The authors studied how 28 people felt about an AI tool that did this reframing automatically. They found that while most people felt less negative emotions afterward, they also felt that the new thoughts were less truly their own. Some saw the AI like a mirror, a different version of themselves, or as another person, which affected how useful and supportive the interaction felt. The authors suggest ways future tools could keep users feeling more control and connection with their own stories.
What this means in practice
- •For mental health app developers: Create AI tools that reframe user stress narratives while preserving users’ sense of authenticity and control over their stories.$Commercial implications: Enables sale of therapeutic apps that use AI for emotional support in a way users feel more personally engaged and motivated.
- •For digital wellbeing service teams: Design interventions that recognize users may see AI as 'another self' or a social actor, shaping how digital support is experienced.
Authors
Yuewen Yang, Olzhas Yessenbayev, Anna R. Van Meter, Tanzeem Choudhury, Daniel A. Adler
Abstract
Individuals are increasingly using AI for psychological support. One specific paradigm, AI-mediated cognitive reframing (AIM-CR), uses AI to automatically reframe users' negative thoughts ("I failed...") into more adaptive perspectives ("I am learning..."). While prior work suggests that AIM-CR tools reduce users' negative emotions, the complexities of AI automatically modifying users' personal narratives remain underexplored. In this work, we investigated these complexities through a mixed-methods study in which 28 participants engaged with an AIM-CR tool that reframed narratives about their stressors. Our findings suggest that participants had mixed perceptions of AIM-CR: although reframing reduced negative emotions for most participants, participants felt less ownership of, and less authenticity in, the reframed narratives. Participants perceived AIM-CR as a validating "mirror," as "another self" that could motivate or alienate them, or as an external social actor. These perceptions shaped therapeutic dynamics. We conclude by discussing design implications for future AIM-CR tools to better preserve user agency in narrative co-construction and more effectively support mental health and well-being.