The behavioural impact of a visually represented virtual assistant in a self-service checkout context

Authors:
Jeunese A. Payne;Graham I. Johnson;Andrea Szymkowiak
Affiliations:
University of Abertay, Dundee;AT & R -- NCR Labs, Dundee, Kingsway West;University of Abertay, Dundee
Venue:
BCS-HCI '11 Proceedings of the 25th BCS Conference on Human-Computer Interaction
Year:
2011

Citing 15
Cited 0

The media equation: how people treat computers, television, and new media like real people and places

The media equation: how people treat computers, television, and new media like real people and places
Delegating to software agents

International Journal of Human-Computer Studies
The impact of animated interface agents: a review of empirical research

International Journal of Human-Computer Studies
Consistency of personality in interactive characters: verbal cues, non-verbal cues, and user characteristics

International Journal of Human-Computer Studies
On-line trust: concepts, evolving themes, a model

International Journal of Human-Computer Studies - Special issue: Trust and technology
Manipulation of non-verbal interaction style and demographic embodiment to increase anthropomorphic computer character credibility

International Journal of Human-Computer Studies - Special issue: Subtle expressivity for characters and robots
The mechanics of trust: a framework for research and design

International Journal of Human-Computer Studies
Evaluating a realistic agent in an advice-giving task

International Journal of Human-Computer Studies
When the interface is a face

Human-Computer Interaction
The interplay of beauty, goodness, and usability in interactive products

Human-Computer Interaction
Too real for comfort? Uncanny responses to computer generated faces

Computers in Human Behavior
Evaluating the effects of behavioral realism in embodied agents

International Journal of Human-Computer Studies
A study of demographic embodiments of product recommendation agents in electronic commerce

International Journal of Human-Computer Studies
Revisiting the uncanny valley theory: Developing and validating an alternative to the Godspeed indices

Computers in Human Behavior
Evaluating humanoid synthetic agents in e-retail applications

IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics, Part A: Systems and Humans

Quantified Score

Hi-index	0.00

Visualization

Abstract

Our research investigated whether the presence of an interface agent -- or virtual assistant (VA) -- in a self-service checkout context has behavioural effects on the transaction process during particular tasks. While many participants claimed to have not noticed a VA within the self-service interface, behaviour was still affected, i.e. fewer people made errors with the VA present than in the voice-only and control conditions. The results are explained as reflective of an unconscious observation of non-verbal cues exhibited by the VA. The results are discussed in relation to possible behavioural outcomes of VA presence.