The effect of an embodied agent´s performance on self-efficacy in human-agent interactions

Based on a previous study showing that observing a student´s poor performance enhances an observer´s self- efficacy in an actual classroom environment, the present study examined the effect in the interaction with an embodied animated agent that played a role of a student on the computer. In the experiment, participants simply observed the student agent solving English anagram questions and later answered questions regarding self- efficacy and impressions about the agent. The results showed that the measured self-efficacy was higher for those participants who observed the low-performance student agent than those who observed the high- performance student agent. That is, the enhancement of self-efficacy observed in a real classroom situation was replicated in the virtual environment with embodied agents. The results also showed that the degree of self- efficacy effect differed depending on whether the participant was told to have a partner relationship with the agent. This finding suggests that social relationship that the participant perceived with the agent has an effect on self-efficacy. Discussions on these findings are developed in terms of the identification and comparison models from social psychology.