Skip to main content

ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Virtual Real.
Sec. Virtual Reality and Human Behaviour
Volume 5 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/frvir.2024.1412039
This article is part of the Research Topic Working mechanisms of design elements to facilitate learning in extended reality View all 5 articles

Task-related errors as a catalyst for empathy towards embodied pedagogical agents

Provisionally accepted
Oliver Rehren Oliver Rehren 1,2*Sebastian Jansen Sebastian Jansen 1,2*Martina Seemann Martina Seemann 1,2Peter Ohler Peter Ohler 1,2
  • 1 Chemnitz University of Technology, Chemnitz, Germany
  • 2 Institute for Media Research, Chemnitz University of Technology, Chemnitz, Lower Saxony, Germany

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    This paper explores the impact of task-related errors and language cues on human-robot interaction, focusing on anthropomorphism and empathy. Participants interacted with the NAO robot during a quiz, manipulating error rates and language styles. Results suggest that human-like error rates increase perceived anthropomorphism, leading to higher empathy and sympathy for the robot. However, anthropomorphism did not significantly influence persuasion. These findings have implications for designing pedagogical agents, particularly within extended reality (XR) learning spaces, where social and emotional interactions can play a crucial role in learner engagement. The study also highlights the need for future research with larger sample sizes and diverse robot designs to explore the nuances of human-robot interaction within immersive environments.

    Keywords: Empathy, Anthropomorphism, Pedagogical agent, cooperative learning, embodied digital technologies, Personality, error rate, HRI (Human Robot Interaction)

    Received: 04 Apr 2024; Accepted: 12 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Rehren, Jansen, Seemann and Ohler. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Oliver Rehren, Chemnitz University of Technology, Chemnitz, Germany
    Sebastian Jansen, Institute for Media Research, Chemnitz University of Technology, Chemnitz, Lower Saxony, Germany

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.