Eliza Effect

implications of anthropomorphic projection on psychic integrity in the face of the use of chatbots for mental health care

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.12662/2447-6641oj.v22i41.p272-308.2024

Keywords:

personality rights, Eliza Effect, mental health, chatbots, artificial intelligence

Abstract

Contextualization: In recente years, the use of chatbots, which can be define as computer programs that have the ability to hold conversations with humans, has gained relevance in the health field, especially for mental health care purposes. These intelligent systems, available for interaction at any time, can conduct exercises to control symptoms of stress, anxiety, depression and suicidal ideation. Despite such technological advances, it is essential to verify whether the implications of anthropomorphic projection, which is the human tendency of understand human characteristics of objects, in such conversations could not offend the individual’s psychological integrity, a personality right.

Objective: the study aims to analyze the implication of the Eliza Effect and anthropomorphic projection in the right to personality right to psychic integrity in the face of the use of chatbots for mental health care purposes.

Method: the research used the hypothetical-deductive method, based on a bibliographic review.

Results: There is a human tendency to anthropomorphize technological devices, reading respondes as results of human emotions, which can cause attachment, identification and dependence, given the perception of reciprocity, a scenario that can generate offense to psychic integrity.

Conclusions: There are ethical and legal implication related to conversation systems for therapeutic purposes, especially in relation to the right to psychic integrity. Issues related to the privacy of shared informatin, security and discriminatory biases are highlighted.

Author Biographies

Raissa Arantes Tobbin, Universidade Cesumar (UNICESUMAR)

Doutoranda em Direito pela Universidade Cesumar (UNICESUMAR); Mestre em Ciências Jurídicas pela Universidade Cesumar (UNICESUMAR); Graduada em Direito pela Universidade Paranaense (UNIPAR); Graduada em Letras – Português/Espanhol pela Universidade Estadual de Ponta Grossa (UEPG); Advogada no Paraná, PR, BR. 

Valeria Silva Galdino Cardin, UEM; UNICESUMAR

Pós-Doutora em Direito pela Universidade de Lisboa; Doutora e mestre em Direito das Relações Sociais pela Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo (PUCSP); Docente da Universidade Estadual de Maringá e no Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Jurídicas pela Universidade Cesumar (UNICESUMAR); Pesquisadora pelo ICETI; Advogada no Paraná. Maringá, PR, BR.

Downloads

Published

2024-12-12

How to Cite

TOBBIN, Raissa Arantes; CARDIN, Valeria Silva Galdino. Eliza Effect: implications of anthropomorphic projection on psychic integrity in the face of the use of chatbots for mental health care. Revista Opinião Jurídica (Fortaleza), Fortaleza, v. 22, n. 41, p. 272–308, 2024. DOI: 10.12662/2447-6641oj.v22i41.p272-308.2024. Disponível em: https://periodicos.unichristus.edu.br/opiniaojuridica/article/view/5015. Acesso em: 30 sep. 2026.

Issue

Vol. 22 No. 41 (2024)

Section

Artigos Originais

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Revista Opinião Jurídica (Fortaleza)

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Copyright and Licensing

According to the current submission policy, authors retain the rights to their works and grant the Revista Opinião Jurídica the right of first publication, with commercial rights reserved by the publisher under the terms of the non-commercial license used. Revista Opinião Jurídica uses a Creative Commons license. The works published are under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC-BY-NC-SA).

This license enables reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format for noncommercial purposes only, and only so long as attribution is given to the creator. If you remix, adapt, or build upon the material, you must license the modified material under identical terms. CC BY-NC-SA includes the following elements:

 BY: credit must be given to the creator.
 NC: Only noncommercial uses of the work are permitted.
 SA: Adaptations must be shared under the same terms.

RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE CONTENT

By submitting an article, the author(s) declare to have sole responsibility for the content of the piece and is(are), therefore, responsible for any judicial or extrajudicial measures referring to it.

1. In case of joint authorship, all authors are considered collectively responsible, except when proved otherwise.