The effects of empathetic virtual characters on presence in narrative-centered learning environments

  • Authors:

  • Scott W. McQuiggan;Jonathan P. Rowe;James C. Lester

  • Affiliations:

  • North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA;North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA;North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA

  • Venue:
  • Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
  • Year:
  • 2008

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Abstract

Recent years have seen a growing interest in the role that narrative can play in learning. With the emergence of narrative-centered learning environments that engage students by drawing them into rich interactions with compelling characters, we have begun to see the significant potential offered by immersive story-based learning experiences. In this paper we describe two studies that investigate the impact of empathetic characters on student perceptions of presence. A study was initially conducted with middle school students, and was then replicated with high school students. The results indicate that, for both populations, employing empathetic characters in narrative-centered learning environments significantly increases student perceptions of presence. The studies also reveal that empathetic characters contribute to a heightened sense of student involvement and control in learning situations.