Interactive Computing Technology in Anti-Bullying Education: The Effects of Conversation-Bot’s Role on K-12 Students’ Attitude Change Toward Bullying Problems

The aim of this study was to examine the effects of an anti-bullying activity that utilizes conversational virtual agents (called conversation-bots or chatbots) on students’ attitudes toward bullying problems. An experimental pre- or posttest design with a three-group setting was used. Eighty-nine fifth-grade students were assigned to one of three groups: Conversation with a virtual agent of (a) bully’s role, (b) victim’s role, and (c) teacher’s role. All agents are conversation-bots designed to support learner–computer interactions. The bully agent defends the notion that bullying behaviors are acceptable whereas the victim agent argues that bullying behavior cannot be tolerated. The teacher agent teaches students the types of bullying and its negative aspects. The participants completed an anti-bullying attitude test at pre- and posttest, which included students’ anti-bully, intention, pro-victim, behavior, and self-efficacy factors. The results show that students’ attitudes toward bullying problems changed to more positive responses after the implementation that used the conversation-bot. In addition, the results revealed that the agent’s role had an impact on the students’ attitudes toward the anti-bully factor. Implications and future research regarding the use of conversation-bots in education are discussed.