Don’t Be So Boring! Embodied Conversational Agents for Role-Playing Peer Pressure to Drink Alcohol in Immersive Virtual Reality

Embodied Conversational Agents (ECAs) show promise as digital counselors for persons with Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD), particularly for role-playing peer pressure scenarios and practicing coping strategies. This is especially relevant for persons with Mild to Borderline Intellectual Disability (MBID), who may be more susceptible to peer pressure. This study evaluated an ECA, co-designed with therapists, that simulates peer pressure to drink alcohol in Immersive Virtual Reality (IVR) for patients with MBID and AUD. Using actor-recorded dialogues in two styles, (1) dominant-friendly and (2) dominant-hostile, a repeated measures experiment with twenty patients assessed the ECA's persuasiveness, and effects on perception, emotional state, and coping behavior. Results show ECAs in IVR can effectively induce peer pressure, though patients perceived both styles as dominant and hostile. Both conditions produced similarly high alcohol craving and anxiety scores. Overall, peer pressure role-plays with ECAs in IVR proved feasible and well-accepted. ECA design features include paralanguage, body and facial animations, and group dynamics.