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A Categorization of Virtual Agent Appearances and a Qualitative Study on Age-Related User Preferences

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Intelligent Virtual Agents (IVA 2017)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNAI,volume 10498))

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Abstract

Various variables influence the perception of appearance, which are difficult to examine holistically in a quantitative approach. To give a holistic overview of appearance variables, a systematic categorization of different dimensions was developed. This is also of special importance with a view to the application field of companions for seniors whose preferences regarding appearance are under-researched. Therefore, based on the categorization, 11 interviews with two different target groups (six students, five elderly) were conducted. Results indicate that seniors tend to prefer a realistic humanoid agent, while students mostly rejected this appearance and instead favored zoomorphic or machinelike agents in comic stylization. In sum, the current research gives a first hint that there are age-related differences with regard to appearance.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Social Psychology: Media and Communication, University Duisburg-Essen, 47057, Duisburg, Germany

    Carolin Straßmann & Nicole C. Krämer

Authors
  1. Carolin Straßmann
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  2. Nicole C. Krämer
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Carolin Straßmann .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden

    Jonas Beskow

  2. KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden

    Christopher Peters

  3. Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden

    Ginevra Castellano

  4. Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland

    Carol O'Sullivan

  5. KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden

    Iolanda Leite

  6. University of Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Germany

    Stefan Kopp

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Straßmann, C., Krämer, N.C. (2017). A Categorization of Virtual Agent Appearances and a Qualitative Study on Age-Related User Preferences. In: Beskow, J., Peters, C., Castellano, G., O'Sullivan, C., Leite, I., Kopp, S. (eds) Intelligent Virtual Agents. IVA 2017. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 10498. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-67401-8_51

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-67401-8_51

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-67400-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-67401-8

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

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