Proceedings of the 2026 8th International Conference on Economic Management and Cultural Industry (ICEMCI 2026)

2026 8th International Conference on Economic Management and Cultural Industry (ICEMCI 2026)

📍Beijing, China🗓️ 12-14 June 2026
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From Interaction to Reflection: How AI Persona and Post-Experience Summarization Jointly Shape Aesthetic Anxiety and Interpretive Confidence in Art Exhibitions

Authors
Guanrong Lian1, *
1Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
*Corresponding author. Email: 3230104265@zju.edu.cn
Corresponding Author
Guanrong Lian
Available Online 30 September 2026.
DOI
10.2991/978-94-6239-777-4_24How to use a DOI?
Keywords
Aesthetic anxiety; Al companion; Museum experience; Conversational Al; Post-experience reflection; Interpretive confidence
Abstract

Many art-exhibition visitors experience aesthetic anxiety—a fear of misinterpreting artworks or being judged for unconventional responses. AI conversational systems offer new support, but two mechanisms—interaction style and post-experience summarization—have been studied in isolation. We report an exploratory 2×2 between-subjects experiment (N = 44) crossing AI interaction style (tool- vs. companion-type) with summarization in an art exhibition, triangulated with interviews. Interaction style showed no direct effects, but summarization showed a medium-to-large effect on retrospective interpretive confidence (d = 0.63, p = .057) benefiting primarily the companion condition (p = .071). Interviews attributed low expression pressure to the AI’s non-human nature and pointed to conversation depth—not the hypothesized cognitive openness—as the likely link from interaction to reflection. We discuss implications for museum AI balancing authority with non-judgmental support.

Copyright
© 2026 The Author(s)
Open Access
Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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Volume Title
Proceedings of the 2026 8th International Conference on Economic Management and Cultural Industry (ICEMCI 2026)
Series
Advances in Economics, Business and Management Research
Publication Date
30 September 2026
ISBN
978-94-6239-777-4
ISSN
2352-5428
DOI
10.2991/978-94-6239-777-4_24How to use a DOI?
Copyright
© 2026 The Author(s)
Open Access
Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

Cite this article

risenwbib
TY  - CONF
AU  - Guanrong Lian
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/30
TI  - From Interaction to Reflection: How AI Persona and Post-Experience Summarization Jointly Shape Aesthetic Anxiety and Interpretive Confidence in Art Exhibitions
BT  - Proceedings of the 2026 8th International Conference on Economic Management and Cultural Industry (ICEMCI 2026)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 203
EP  - 211
SN  - 2352-5428
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6239-777-4_24
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6239-777-4_24
ID  - Lian2026
ER  -