Parasocial Cognition
Cognitive deference shaped by relationship-like interaction with conversational systems.
Working Definition
Parasocial cognition names the shift in stance that occurs when users interpret machine fluency through social expectations usually reserved for human interlocutors.
Structural Expansion
Inquiry uses this concept to explain why confidence, tone, and responsiveness can induce authority effects without reliable epistemic grounding.
Related Terms
Referenced in this Inquiry
- When the System Feels Like Someone
How fluent interaction can quietly alter stance, trust, and authorship under generative conditions.