Do Pedagogical Agents Facilitate Learner Motivation and Learning Outcomes?

Pedagogical agents – lifelike characters that guide users through multimedia learning environments – are intended to facilitate the learning process. According to social agency theory, the presentation of social cues (the image and voice of the agent) may prime the social interaction schema and cause the learner to deeply process the learning material. Research on pedagogical agents focuses mainly on either the role of the presence of pedagogical agents, by comparing agent and no-agent groups, or on the design of the character, by comparing different agent groups. This article takes a comprehensive view combining both approaches in order to answer the question of how pedagogical agents should be designed so as to promote learner motivation and learning. It is argued that not only the mere presence, but also the valence of the social cues presented plays a decisive role. Two experiments examine the role of the perceived appeal of a pedagogical agent’s appearance and voice. The results of Experiment 1 indicate that pedagogical agents may promote transfer performance, but only if they are appealing in appearance. The mere inclusion of a pedagogical agent yielded no effect on motivation or learning. Experiment 2 suggests that a high appeal of the pedagogical agent’s appearance and voice promoted transfer performance. However, this advantage did not occur when compared to a control group without an agent. The presentation of two unappealing social cues (appearance and voice) even harmed transfer. This result suggests an important modification of social agency theory.