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Archive » January 2026 » The influence of the avatar on emotional intensity of investors in risk profiling

The influence of the avatar on emotional intensity of investors in risk profiling

Marco Barone, Candida Bussoli, Alessandro Carretta, Simona Luzzi
January 2026 - n. 1
Keywords: Avatar, Intelligenza artificiale, profilatura del rischio
Jel codes: O33, D81

The adoption of Artificial intelligence tools such as chatbots and virtual advisors is increasing in finance, yet their emotional impact on investors remains underexplored, despite the crucial role of emotions in financial decision-making. This study examines how the presence of a human-like avatar and different emotional priming affect investors' emotions during the MiFid risk profiling questionnaire. Based on data from 581 participants analyzed through emotionrecognition software, findings show that avatars reduce emotional involvement, particularly among older adults, while gender does not predict this effect. The avatar's emotion-regulation efficacy varies by priming condition, being weaker under negative priming and stronger under positive priming. These insights have relevant implications for the design and regulation of Artificial intelligence-based financial tools.

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