Design of animated pedagogical agents - A look at their look

A well-established effect of animated agents in educational and other contexts is their potential to motivate and engage. ''Increased motivation in users'' is also one of the more frequent answers given to the question, ''What is gained by adding an animated pedagogical agent to an intelligent tutoring system?'' To further develop and exploit this potential, there are, however, several issues that need to be resolved. In this article we discuss the visual form and look of animated pedagogical agents. A survey is presented of how the area is approached (and, in particular, not approached) in research on animated pedagogical agents. Two possible reasons are proposed as to why visual form and look are so little addressed are also proposed. We also propose and discuss some key aspects of look that merit a systematic approach in future research. The main thesis of the paper is that users' visuo-aesthetic experience of animated pedagogical agents is too important with respect to the goals to motivate and engage, to be treated as a secondary issue. We do not deny that there are other pressing and fundamental issues that need to be solved, such as those concerning the content of the support and the competence level of agents, as well as various design elements that can contribute to making animated agents lifelike. But we argue that visual rendering issues are pressing and need to be seriously addressed as well.

[1]  W. Sheldon,et al.  The varieties of human physique : an introduction to constitutional psychology , 1941 .

[2]  W. H. Jones,et al.  Physical attractiveness and judgments of psychopathology. , 1978, The Journal of social psychology.

[3]  Jakob Nielsen,et al.  User Empowerment and the Fun Factor - Questions and Answers with Jakob Nielsen , 2005, Funology.

[4]  Kim K. P. Johnson,et al.  Dress and Physical Attractiveness of Women in Job Interviews , 1987 .

[5]  Thomas F. Cash,et al.  Body Images: Development, Deviance, and Change , 1991 .

[6]  John Lasseter,et al.  Principles of traditional animation applied to 3D computer animation , 1987, SIGGRAPH.

[7]  J. Brigham,et al.  Limiting conditions of the “physical attractiveness stereotype”: Attributions about divorce , 1980 .

[8]  John Liggett.  THE HUMAN FACE , 2018, Professor at Large.

[9]  D. Christopher Dryer,et al.  Getting Personal with Computers: How to Design Personalities for Agents , 1999, Appl. Artif. Intell..

[10]  Tai Yu Lin,et al.  Smart Machines in Education , 2002, J. Educ. Technol. Soc..

[11]  N. Tractinsky,et al.  What is beautiful is usable , 2000, Interact. Comput..

[12]  Lee Sproull,et al.  Using a human face in an interface , 1994, CHI '94.

[13]  C. Pelachaud,et al.  Transcultural believability in embodied agents: a matter of consistent adaptation , 2004 .

[14]  Scott McGlashan,et al.  Olga - a conversational agent with gestures , 2007 .

[15]  Clifford Nass,et al.  Maximized Modality or constrained consistency? , 1999, AVSP.

[16]  B Thornton,et al.  Assessment of the full content of physique stereotypes with a free-response format. , 1993, The Journal of social psychology.

[17]  Isaac Kerlow,et al.  The Art of 3D Computer Animation and Effects , 2008 .

[18]  Roger C. Schank,et al.  Motivation and failure in educational simulation design , 2001 .

[19]  Ben Shneiderman,et al.  Designing the user interface (2nd ed.): strategies for effective human-computer interaction , 1992 .

[20]  Kristinn R. Thórisson,et al.  The Power of a Nod and a Glance: Envelope Vs. Emotional Feedback in Animated Conversational Agents , 1999, Appl. Artif. Intell..

[21]  Thomas Rist,et al.  Integrating reactive and scripted behaviors in a life-like presentation agent , 1998, AGENTS '98.

[22]  Francis T. McAndrew,et al.  The Influence of Physical Attractiveness and Manner of Dress on Success in a Simulated Personnel Decision , 1985 .

[23]  F. Thomas,et al.  The illusion of life : Disney animation , 1981 .

[24]  Lee Sproull,et al.  My partner is a real dog: cooperation with social agents , 1996, CSCW '96.

[25]  Elisabeth André,et al.  The Persona Effect: How Substantial Is It? , 1998, BCS HCI.

[26]  Akikazu Takeuchi,et al.  Situated facial displays: towards social interaction , 1995, CHI '95.

[27]  Pattie Maes,et al.  Agents with Faces: The Effects of Personification of Agents , 1996 .

[28]  Sharon Oviatt,et al.  Designing and evaluating conversational interfaces with animated characters , 2001 .

[29]  Brenda Laurel,et al.  Computers as theatre , 1991 .

[30]  James C. Lester,et al.  Animated pedagogical agents in knowledge-based learning environments , 2001 .

[31]  Greg Kearsley,et al.  Intelligent Agents and Instructional Systems: Implications of a New Paradigm. , 1993 .

[32]  Å. Hellström,et al.  Person perception through facial photographs: effects of glasses, hair, and beard on judgments of occupation and personal qualities , 1994 .

[33]  Norman I. Badler,et al.  A Parameterized Action Representation for Virtual Human Agents , 1998 .

[34]  P. Jordan.  Designing Pleasurable Products: An Introduction to the New Human Factors , 2000 .

[35]  Y. Rogers,et al.  Interaction Design , 2002 .

[36]  Tia G. B. Hansen,et al.  Collaborative Learning : Cognitive and Computational Approaches , 1999 .

[37]  John Orbell,et al.  Physical Attractiveness, Opportunity, and Success in Everyday Exchange1 , 1998, American Journal of Sociology.

[38]  B. Gillen,et al.  Physical Attractiveness , 1981 .

[39]  Byron Reeves,et al.  The effects of animated characters on anxiety, task performance, and evaluations of user interfaces , 2000, CHI.

[40]  Donald Elman.  Physical Characteristics and the Perception of Masculine Traits , 1977 .

[41]  Clifford Nass,et al.  The media equation - how people treat computers, television, and new media like real people and places , 1996 .

[42]  Patrick W. Jordan,et al.  Human factors in product design : current practice and future trends , 1999 .

[43]  Jakob Nielsen,et al.  Usability engineering , 1997, The Computer Science and Engineering Handbook.

[44]  Thomas W. Malone,et al.  Toward a Theory of Intrinsically Motivating Instruction , 1981, Cogn. Sci..

[45]  J. Keller.  Motivational Design of Instruction , 1983 .

[46]  Diana Laurillard,et al.  Rethinking University Teaching: A Framework for the Effective Use of Educational Technology , 1993 .

[47]  C. Nass,et al.  Truth is beauty: researching embodied conversational agents , 2001 .

[48]  Lee Sproull,et al.  When the Interface Is a Face , 1996, Hum. Comput. Interact..

[49]  J. Cassell,et al.  Embodied conversational agents , 2000 .

[50]  Tomoko Koda,et al.  Agents with faces : a study on the effects of personification of software agents , 1996 .

[51]  Charles M. Reigeluth,et al.  Instructional Design Theories and Models : An Overview of Their Current Status , 1983 .

[52]  P. Hietala,et al.  The Competence of Learning Companion Agents , 1997 .

[53]  A. Fallon,et al.  Culture in the mirror: Sociocultural determinants of body image. , 1990 .

[54]  B. Schneirdeman,et al.  Designing the User Interface: Strategies for Effective Human-Computer Interaction , 1998 .

[55]  Catherine Pelachaud,et al.  Performative facial expressions in animated faces , 2001 .

[56]  S. Kaiser,et al.  The Social Psychology of Clothing and Personal Adornment , 1985 .

[57]  S. Kalick,et al.  Physical attractiveness as a status cue , 1988 .

[58]  Colin Potts,et al.  Design of Everyday Things , 1988 .

[59]  James C. Lester,et al.  Explanatory lifelike avatars , 1999 .

[60]  Tom Carey,et al.  Human-computer interaction , 1994 .

[61]  Elizabeth F. Churchill,et al.  “May I help you?”: designing embodied conversational agent allies , 2001 .

[62]  James C. Lester,et al.  Animated pedagogical agents and problem-solving effectiveness: a large-scale empirical evaluation , 1997 .

[63]  Douglas B. Millar,et al.  Building a Case for Agent-Assisted Learning as a Catalyst for Curriculum Reform in Medical Education , 2000 .

[64]  E. Mathes,et al.  The Effects of Physical Attractiveness and Anxiety on Heterosexual Attraction Over a Series of Five Encounters. , 1975 .

[65]  Roxzanne van Eyk,et al.  Judging a book by its cover , 2008 .

[66]  James C. Lester,et al.  Deictic and emotive communication in animated pedagogical agents , 2001 .

[67]  Patricia O'Neill-Brown,et al.  Setting the Stage for the Culturally Adaptive Agent , 1997 .

[68]  Ana Paiva,et al.  Vincent, an Autonomous Pedagogical Agent for On-the-Job Training , 1998, Intelligent Tutoring Systems.

[69]  Clifford Nass,et al.  Computers are social actors , 1994, CHI '94.

[70]  John H. Krantz,et al.  Dimensions of Trait Attributions Associated with Eyeglasses, Men's Facial Hair, and Women's Hair Length1 , 1993 .

[71]  Thomas Rist,et al.  The automated design of believable dialogues for animated presentation teams , 2001 .

[72]  Magnus Haake,et al.  Social and visual style in virtual pedagogical agents , 2005 .

[73]  Gitte Lindgaard,et al.  What is this evasive beast we call user satisfaction? , 2003, Interact. Comput..

[74]  Maria Virvou,et al.  Evaluating the persona effect of an interface agent in a tutoring system , 2002, J. Comput. Assist. Learn..

[75]  W. Green,et al.  Pleasure with Products: Human Factors for Body, Mind and Soul , 1999 .

[76]  Justine Cassell,et al.  Human conversation as a system framework: designing embodied conversational agents , 2001 .

[77]  Sheryl Brahnam,et al.  Creating Physical Personalities For Agents with Faces : Modeling Trait Impressions of the Face , 2001 .

[78]  Hilary Johnson,et al.  People and computers XIII : proceedings of HCI '98 , 1998 .

[79]  M. Manis.  Cognitive Social Psychology , 1977 .

[80]  Donald A. Norman,et al.  Emotion & design: attractive things work better , 2002, INTR.

[81]  Batya Friedman,et al.  Human values and the design of computer technology , 1997 .

[82]  James C. Lester,et al.  The Case for Social Agency in Computer-Based Teaching: Do Students Learn More Deeply When They Interact With Animated Pedagogical Agents? , 2001 .

[83]  D. Thalmann,et al.  A behavioral animation system for autonomous actors personified by emotions , 1998 .

[84]  James T. Milord.  Aesthetic aspects of faces : A (somewhat) phenomenological analysis using multidimensional scaling methods , 1978 .

[85]  W. Johnson,et al.  Task-oriented collaboration with embodied agents in virtual worlds , 2001 .

[86]  T. Bickmore.  Relational agents : effecting change through human-computer relationships , 2003 .

[87]  Justine Cassell,et al.  An Architecture for Embodied Conversational Characters , 1998 .

[88]  M. Jack,et al.  Providing Animated Characters with Designated Personality Profiles , 1998 .

[89]  Timothy Koschmann,et al.  Cscl : Theory and Practice of An Emerging Paradigm , 1996 .

[90]  B. Schneiderman,et al.  Designing the User Interface. Strategies for Effective Human-Computer Interaction , 1992 .

[91]  J. Breese,et al.  Emotion and personality in a conversational agent , 2001 .

[92]  Norman I. Badler,et al.  A Virtual Human Presenter , 1997 .

[93]  Mark Steedman,et al.  Animated conversation: rule-based generation of facial expression, gesture & spoken intonation for multiple conversational agents , 1994, SIGGRAPH.

[94]  Nadia Tazi,et al.  Fragments for a History of the Human Body , 1991 .

[95]  James C. Lester,et al.  Animated Pedagogical Agents: Face-to-Face Interaction in Interactive Learning Environments , 2000 .

[96]  J. Cassell,et al.  Nudge nudge wink wink: elements of face-to-face conversation for embodied conversational agents , 2001 .

[97]  J. Langlois,et al.  Maxims or myths of beauty? A meta-analytic and theoretical review. , 2000, Psychological bulletin.

[98]  Bill Thornton,et al.  Public Self-Consciousness and Physique Stereotyping , 1991 .

[99]  Jonas Beskow,et al.  Developing and evaluating conversational agents , 2001 .

[100]  David J. Schneider,et al.  The Psychology of Stereotyping , 2003 .

[101]  Susanne van Mulken,et al.  The impact of animated interface agents: a review of empirical research , 2000, Int. J. Hum. Comput. Stud..

[102]  Lawrence W. Stark,et al.  The Effects of Pictorial Realism, Delay of Visual Feedback, and Observer Interactivity on the Subjective Sense of Presence , 1996, Presence: Teleoperators & Virtual Environments.