Creating Rapport with Virtual Agents

Abstract. Recent research has established the potential for virtual characters to establish rapport with humans through simple contingent nonverbal behaviors. We hypothesized that the contingency, not just the frequency of positive feedback is crucial when it comes to creating rapport. The primary goal in this study was evaluative: can an agent generate behavior that engenders feelings of rapport in human speakers and how does this compare to human generated feedback? A secondary goal was to answer the question: Is contingency (as opposed to frequency) of agent feedback crucial when it comes to creating feelings of rapport? Results suggest that contingency matters when it comes to creating rapport and that agent generated behavior was as good as human listeners in creating rapport. A “virtual human listener” condition performed worse than other conditions.

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2007
• Where: IVA
• Authors: Jonathan Gratch, Ning Wang, Jillian Gerten, Edward Fast, Robin Duffy
• Keywords: Contingent Nonverbal Behaviors, Human Generated Feedback, IVA 2007, Rapport