Paper Info
Title
Who Do You Prefer? The Effect Of Age, Gender And Role On Users' First Impressions Of Embodied Conversational Agents In Ehealth
Abstract
Embodied conversational agents may be used to engage users in adopting eHealth applications. The aim of this research is to investigate which design features establish a positive first impression of an agent in this context. A set of eight static agent images, different in age, gender and role, were subjected to testing in an online questionnaire. Respondents (n = 155) selected their preferred design and rated the characteristics - friendliness, expertise, reliability, involvement and authority - and the likeliness of following the agent's advice for all designs. In addition, focus groups (n = 13) were conducted for detailed understandings supporting these impressions. Our results show that, for both a general and elderly population, (1) people seem to prefer images of young, female agents over old, male agents, (2) the (a) age, (b) gender and (c) role of the agent image affect the perception of the agent's characteristics and the likeliness of following the agent's advice, and that (3) both the general and elderly population prefer an agent image that is similar in (a) age and (b) gender. A next step would be to investigate how the characteristics of the agent designs are perceived after interaction with the agent.
Year
DOI
Venue
2020
10.1080/10447318.2019.1699744
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERACTION
DocType
Volume
Issue
Journal
36
9
ISSN
Citations 
PageRank 
1044-7318
1
0.35
References 
Authors
0
5
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Silke ter Stal120.71
monique tabak296.29
Harm Op Den Akker36111.41
Tessa Beinema411.36
Hermie J. Hermens57015.98