The Challenge of Constructing Psychologically Believable Agents

Schönbrodt, Felix D.; Asendorpf, Jens B.

doi:10.1027/1864-1105/a000040

Cited by 22 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…All other Simos were autonomous agents who interacted with each other and their environment. Generally, the autonomous agents reacted according to a tit-for-tat strategy (for details on the underlying model of the agents, see Schönbrodt & Asendorpf, 2011a). During the game, participants encountered different scenes.…”

Section: Attachment Dynamics In a Virtual Worldmentioning

confidence: 99%

Attachment Dynamics in a Virtual World

Schönbrodt

Asendorpf

2012

Journal of Personality

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The study investigated the transfer of attachment working models onto autonomous agents in a virtual social environment (VSE). Participants from a community sample (N = 422; mean age = 29 years; mean relationship duration = 4.8 years) encountered three attachmentrelated key scenes in a VSE: a separation with a subsequent reunion, a conflict, and an illness. In these scenarios, participants gave instructions to the main character (the "protagonist"), who had a romantic relationship with one of the other agents (the "virtual spouse"). Recorded were numerous behaviors as well as emotions participants ascribed to the protagonist. Generally, participants' attachment styles correlated as predicted with their behavior toward the virtual spouse, with bs up to .42. Thus, the study demonstrates that internal working models are transferred to the virtual relationship. This approach opens new ways to investigate attachmentrelated behavior by using VSEs that allow experimental variations of the virtual partner's reactions and other situational variables.Attachment theory assumes that representations of early childhood experiences and other past relationships shape an internal working model that influences perception and behavior in new relationships

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Section: Attachment Dynamics In a Virtual Worldmentioning

confidence: 99%

Attachment Dynamics in a Virtual World

Schönbrodt

Asendorpf

2012

Journal of Personality

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“…Behavioral mimicry has been used as a design strategy in a number of previous works in order to make virtual agents appear more realistic and believable (i.e., humanlike), 16 and as a means to gain social influence, 17 facilitate task cooperation, 18 and establish rapport with a human interaction partner. 19 Some have implemented complex multimodal mimicry mechanisms, including postural mirroring and mimicry of certain head gestures, 19 while others showed that even simple forms of mimicry such as imitating head movements 17 can be effective.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Virtual Peacemakers: Mimicry Increases Empathy in Simulated Contact with Virtual Outgroup Members

Hasler

Hirschberger

Shani-Sherman

et al. 2014

Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking

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This research examined virtual-human interactions as a new form of simulated contact between members of groups in conflict. A virtual human representing an outgroup member (a Palestinian) interacted with 60 Jewish Israeli participants in an experimental study. We manipulated postural mimicry by the virtual interaction partner during a conversation about a sensitive conflict issue. Mimicry increased empathy toward the Palestinians, irrespective of participants' feelings toward the Palestinians prior to the experiment. Further, mimicked participants who reported a priori negative feelings toward Palestinians expressed more sympathy toward their Palestinian virtual interaction partner, rated themselves as closer to him, and perceived the interaction as more harmonious compared to participants in a counter-mimicry condition. The results underscore the impact of mimicry on intergroup interactions, especially on individuals who harbor negative feelings toward the outgroup. The use of virtual-human interactions in obtaining this effect reveals the still widely unexplored potential of technology-enhanced conflict resolution.

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“…We investigate this hypothesis in the virtual social environment (VSE) Simoland (Schönbrodt & Asendorpf, 2011a, 2011b. In VSEs, participants control a virtual character (protagonist) who can engage in different social and non-social behaviors.…”

Section: Loneliness and Social Behaviors In A Virtual Social Environmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The VSE Simoland (Schönbrodt & Asendorpf, 2011a, 2011b) is a simple, twodimensional browser game that is inhabited by several autonomous agents. These agents are displayed as cartoon-like round or rectangular creatures, which can express several basic emotions and autonomously engage in solitary behaviors or social interactions.…”

Section: The Vse "Simoland"mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Of initially 211 participants, 35 only completed the baseline survey but did not play the Simoland game and were therefore not included in the final sample. simple appearance, it was taken care that the agents behave and react in a psychologically believable way (Schönbrodt & Asendorpf, 2011a). Participants of the study can control one of the characters (henceforward called protagonist), whose gender is matched to that of the participant.…”

Section: The Vse "Simoland"mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Loneliness and social behaviors in a virtual social environment

Luhmann¹,

Schönbrodt²,

Hawkley³

et al. 2016

Preprint

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Feeling lonely motivates people to reconnect with others, but it can also trigger a vicious cycle of cognitions and behaviors that reinforces their loneliness. In this study, we examined the behavioral consequences of loneliness in a virtual social environment. A total of 176 participants navigated a character (protagonist) through a two-dimensional browser game and rated the character’s loneliness multiple times during the game. In the first part of the game, another character is introduced as the protagonist’s spouse. At one point, the spouse leaves for an undetermined period of time but later returns. Immediately before this separation, higher ascribed loneliness of the protagonist was associated with more frequent interactions with the spouse. After the reunion, however, higher ascribed loneliness was associated with less frequent interactions with the spouse. Ascribed loneliness was not significantly related to the frequency of interactions with others nor to the frequency of solitary activities. These patterns held after controlling for ascribed positive affect. Participants’ levels of loneliness were related to the level of ascribed loneliness only when the spouse was present but not when the spouse was absent. In sum, these findings suggest that the conditions that trigger the vicious cycle of loneliness are person-specific and situation-specific.

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The Challenge of Constructing Psychologically Believable Agents

Cited by 22 publications

References 40 publications

Attachment Dynamics in a Virtual World

Attachment Dynamics in a Virtual World

Virtual Peacemakers: Mimicry Increases Empathy in Simulated Contact with Virtual Outgroup Members

Loneliness and social behaviors in a virtual social environment

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