Role-play

A social behaviour in which a person treats a non-human or virtual agent as if it had a character, feelings, or agency — narrating its actions, giving it a name, addressing it in character, and rationalising its mistakes with in-character explanations. In accessibility research on AI assistants, VR agents, and robotic guides, role-play has emerged as a strategy users employ to absorb AI errors, reduce embarrassment in social settings, and invite sighted or nondisabled peers into a shared experience. Design implication: systems intended for social contexts should accommodate rather than resist role-playing behaviour.