Exploring the Effects of Virtual Agents’ Smiles on Human-Agent Interaction: A Mixed-Methods Study

BACKGROUND Assistive technologies have become more important owing to the aging population, especially when they foster healthy behaviors. Because of their natural interface, virtual agents are promising assistants for people in need of support. To engage people during an interaction with these technologies, such assistants need to match the users´ needs and preferences, especially with regard to social outcomes. OBJECTIVE Prior research has already determined the importance of an agent’s appearance in a human-agent interaction. As seniors can particularly benefit from the use of virtual agents to maintain their autonomy, it is important to investigate their special needs. However, there are almost no studies focusing on age-related differences with regard to appearance effects. METHODS A 2×4 between-subjects design was used to investigate the age-related differences of appearance effects in a human-agent interaction. In this study, 46 seniors and 84 students interacted in a health scenario with a virtual agent, whose appearance varied (cartoon-stylized humanoid agent, cartoon-stylized machine-like agent, more realistic humanoid agent, and nonembodied agent [voice only]). After the interaction, participants reported on the evaluation of the agent, usage intention, perceived presence of the agent, bonding toward the agent, and overall evaluation of the interaction. RESULTS The findings suggested that seniors evaluated the agent more positively (liked the agent more and evaluated it as more realistic, attractive, and sociable) and showed more bonding toward the agent regardless of the appearance than did students. In addition, interaction effects were found. Seniors reported the highest usage intention for the cartoon-stylized humanoid agent, whereas students reported the lowest usage intention for this agent. The same pattern was found for participant bonding with the agent. Seniors showed more bonding when interacting with the cartoon-stylized humanoid agent or voice only agent, whereas students showed the least bonding when interacting with the cartoon-stylized humanoid agent. CONCLUSIONS In health-related interactions, target group–related differences exist with regard to a virtual assistant’s appearance. When elderly individuals are the target group, a humanoid virtual assistant might trigger specific social responses and be evaluated more positively at least in short-term interactions.

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Adaptation Mechanisms in Human–Agent Interaction: Effects on User’s Impressions and Engagement

Frontiers in Computer Science ◽

10.3389/fcomp.2021.696682 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 3 ◽

Author(s):

Beatrice Biancardi ◽

Soumia Dermouche ◽

Catherine Pelachaud

Keyword(s):

A Priori ◽

Experimental Studies ◽

Human Interaction ◽

Virtual Agents ◽

Conversational Agents ◽

Adaptive Agents ◽

Human Agent ◽

Adaptation Mechanisms ◽

Agent Interaction ◽

The Impact

Adaptation is a key mechanism in human–human interaction. In our work, we aim at endowing embodied conversational agents with the ability to adapt their behavior when interacting with a human interlocutor. With the goal to better understand what the main challenges concerning adaptive agents are, we investigated the effects on the user’s experience of three adaptation models for a virtual agent. The adaptation mechanisms performed by the agent take into account the user’s reaction and learn how to adapt on the fly during the interaction. The agent’s adaptation is realized at several levels (i.e., at the behavioral, conversational, and signal levels) and focuses on improving the user’s experience along different dimensions (i.e., the user’s impressions and engagement). In our first two studies, we aim to learn the agent’s multimodal behaviors and conversational strategies to dynamically optimize the user’s engagement and impressions of the agent, by taking them as input during the learning process. In our third study, our model takes both the user’s and the agent’s past behavior as input and predicts the agent’s next behavior. Our adaptation models have been evaluated through experimental studies sharing the same interacting scenario, with the agent playing the role of a virtual museum guide. These studies showed the impact of the adaptation mechanisms on the user’s experience of the interaction and their perception of the agent. Interacting with an adaptive agent vs. a nonadaptive agent tended to be more positively perceived. Finally, the effects of people’s a priori about virtual agents found in our studies highlight the importance of taking into account the user’s expectancies in human–agent interaction.

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Age-Related Differences in the Evaluation of a Virtual Health Agent’s Appearance and Embodiment in a Health-Related Interaction: Experimental Lab Study

Journal of Medical Internet Research ◽

10.2196/13726 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 22 (4) ◽

pp. e13726

Author(s):

Carolin Straßmann ◽

Nicole C Krämer ◽

Hendrik Buschmeier ◽

Stefan Kopp

Keyword(s):

Assistive Technologies ◽

Target Group ◽

Virtual Agents ◽

Social Responses ◽

Healthy Behaviors ◽

Human Agent ◽

Age Related ◽

Agent Interaction ◽

Health Related ◽

Overall Evaluation

Background Assistive technologies have become more important owing to the aging population, especially when they foster healthy behaviors. Because of their natural interface, virtual agents are promising assistants for people in need of support. To engage people during an interaction with these technologies, such assistants need to match the users´ needs and preferences, especially with regard to social outcomes. Objective Prior research has already determined the importance of an agent’s appearance in a human-agent interaction. As seniors can particularly benefit from the use of virtual agents to maintain their autonomy, it is important to investigate their special needs. However, there are almost no studies focusing on age-related differences with regard to appearance effects. Methods A 2×4 between-subjects design was used to investigate the age-related differences of appearance effects in a human-agent interaction. In this study, 46 seniors and 84 students interacted in a health scenario with a virtual agent, whose appearance varied (cartoon-stylized humanoid agent, cartoon-stylized machine-like agent, more realistic humanoid agent, and nonembodied agent [voice only]). After the interaction, participants reported on the evaluation of the agent, usage intention, perceived presence of the agent, bonding toward the agent, and overall evaluation of the interaction. Results The findings suggested that seniors evaluated the agent more positively (liked the agent more and evaluated it as more realistic, attractive, and sociable) and showed more bonding toward the agent regardless of the appearance than did students. In addition, interaction effects were found. Seniors reported the highest usage intention for the cartoon-stylized humanoid agent, whereas students reported the lowest usage intention for this agent. The same pattern was found for participant bonding with the agent. Seniors showed more bonding when interacting with the cartoon-stylized humanoid agent or voice only agent, whereas students showed the least bonding when interacting with the cartoon-stylized humanoid agent. Conclusions In health-related interactions, target group–related differences exist with regard to a virtual assistant’s appearance. When elderly individuals are the target group, a humanoid virtual assistant might trigger specific social responses and be evaluated more positively at least in short-term interactions.

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Intelligent Blended Agents: Reality–Virtuality Interaction with Artificially Intelligent Embodied Virtual Humans

Multimodal Technologies and Interaction ◽

10.3390/mti4040085 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 (4) ◽

pp. 85

Author(s):

Susanne Schmidt ◽

Oscar Ariza ◽

Frank Steinicke

Keyword(s):

Intelligent Agents ◽

User Study ◽

Physical Simulation ◽

Body Representation ◽

Human Interaction ◽

Communication Process ◽

Virtual Agents ◽

Positive Effects ◽

Human Agent ◽

Agent Interaction

Intelligent virtual agents (VAs) already support us in a variety of everyday tasks such as setting up appointments, monitoring our fitness, and organizing messages. Adding a humanoid body representation to these mostly voice-based VAs has enormous potential to enrich the human–agent communication process but, at the same time, raises expectations regarding the agent’s social, spatial, and intelligent behavior. Embodied VAs may be perceived as less human-like if they, for example, do not return eye contact, or do not show a plausible collision behavior with the physical surroundings. In this article, we introduce a new model that extends human-to-human interaction to interaction with intelligent agents and covers different multi-modal and multi-sensory channels that are required to create believable embodied VAs. Theoretical considerations of the different aspects of human–agent interaction are complemented by implementation guidelines to support the practical development of such agents. In this context, we particularly emphasize one aspect that is distinctive of embodied agents, i.e., interaction with the physical world. Since previous studies indicated negative effects of implausible physical behavior of VAs, we were interested in the initial responses of users when interacting with a VA with virtual–physical capabilities for the first time. We conducted a pilot study to collect subjective feedback regarding two forms of virtual–physical interactions. Both were designed and implemented in preparation of the user study, and represent two different approaches to virtual–physical manipulations: (i) displacement of a robotic object, and (ii) writing on a physical sheet of paper with thermochromic ink. The qualitative results of the study indicate positive effects of agents with virtual–physical capabilities in terms of their perceived realism as well as evoked emotional responses of the users. We conclude with an outlook on possible future developments of different aspects of human–agent interaction in general and the physical simulation in particular.

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Determining Emotional Tone and Verbal Behavior in Patients With Tinnitus and Hyperacusis: An Exploratory Mixed-Methods Study

American Journal of Audiology ◽

10.1044/2019_aja-18-0136 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 28 (3) ◽

pp. 660-672

Author(s):

Suzanne H. Kimball ◽

Toby Hamilton ◽

Erin Benear ◽

Jonathan Baldwin

Keyword(s):

Mixed Methods ◽

Verbal Behavior ◽

Coping Strategies ◽

Mixed Methods Study ◽

Self Report ◽

Anxiety And Depression ◽

Negative Consequences ◽

Emotional Tone ◽

Explanatory Mixed Methods ◽

Quantitative Results

Purpose The purpose of this study was to evaluate the emotional tone and verbal behavior of social media users who self-identified as having tinnitus and/or hyperacusis that caused self-described negative consequences on daily life or health. Research Design and Method An explanatory mixed-methods design was utilized. Two hundred “initial” and 200 “reply” Facebook posts were collected from members of a tinnitus group and a hyperacusis group. Data were analyzed via the LIWC 2015 software program and compared to typical bloggers. As this was an explanatory mixed-methods study, we used qualitative thematic analyses to explain, interpret, and illustrate the quantitative results. Results Overall, quantitative results indicated lower overall emotional tone for all categories (tinnitus and hyperacusis, initial and reply), which was mostly influenced by higher negative emotion. Higher levels of authenticity or truth were found in the hyperacusis sample but not in the tinnitus sample. Lower levels of clout (social standing) were indicated in all groups, and a lower level of analytical thinking style (concepts and complex categories rather than narratives) was found in the hyperacusis sample. Additional analysis of the language indicated higher levels of sadness and anxiety in all groups and lower levels of anger, particularly for initial replies. These data support prior findings indicating higher levels of anxiety and depression in this patient population based on the actual words in blog posts and not from self-report questionnaires. Qualitative results identified 3 major themes from both the tinnitus and hyperacusis texts: suffering, negative emotional tone, and coping strategies. Conclusions Results from this study suggest support for the predominant clinical view that patients with tinnitus and hyperacusis have higher levels of anxiety and depression than the general population. The extent of the suffering described and patterns of coping strategies suggest clinical practice patterns and the need for research in implementing improved practice plans.

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Self-contradicting attitudes and beliefs by emerging teachers on textbook use: A sequential explanatory mixed methods study

PsycEXTRA Dataset ◽

10.1037/e522252014-015 ◽

2014 ◽

Author(s):

Abel Diaz

Keyword(s):

Mixed Methods ◽

Mixed Methods Study ◽

Attitudes And Beliefs ◽

Textbook Use ◽

Explanatory Mixed Methods ◽

Sequential Explanatory

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Efficacy of the flipped classroom to teach play therapy: A mixed-methods study.

International Journal of Play Therapy ◽

10.1037/pla0000076 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 27 (3) ◽

pp. 146-156 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Elisabeth A. Counselman-Carpenter

Keyword(s):

Mixed Methods ◽

Play Therapy ◽

Flipped Classroom ◽

Mixed Methods Study

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EXPERIENCES, FRUSTRATIONS, AND BARRIERS, OF IPAD USAGE IN THE SPECIAL EDUCATION: LIFE SKILLS CLASSROOM FROM EDUCATORS PERSPECTIVE

Informatics and Education ◽

10.32517/0234-0453-2018-33-8-61-67 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 61-67

Author(s):

D. J. Sullivan ◽

S. Labby ◽

A. Koptelov ◽

S. L. Sullivan

Keyword(s):

Special Education ◽

Mixed Methods ◽

Communication Systems ◽

Life Skills ◽

Mixed Methods Study ◽

Educational Tool ◽

Special Educator ◽

Communications Systems ◽

Communication Device ◽

Communication Devices

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to determine the barriers that special educator teachers encounter when using iPads within the Life Skills classroom. The research investigates the experiences, frustrations, and barriers through educators’ perceptions of iPad implementation. The influence of these issues suggests why iPad usage is not a device that special education classrooms are using in a widespread daily manner. Exploration of iPads as an educational tool and as a communication device is also discussed, along with considerations of other communications systems such as Picture Exchange Communication Systems and Alternative and Augmented Communication Devices is considered. Recommendations for further possible research are also discussed.

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