Paper Info
Title
The effects of incorporating a virtual agent in a computer-aided test designed for stress management education: The mediating role of enjoyment
Abstract
Drawing upon the Entertainment-Education paradigm, this study evaluated the effectiveness of a computer-aided interactive test designed for stress management education targeting college students. The presence (vs. absence) of a virtual agent incorporated into the interactive test was proposed as the key factor that induces enjoyment and educational outcomes. The interactive test consisted of scenarios describing stressful situations that could occur in college students' everyday lives. Furthermore, college students could relate the concerns raised by these hypothetical situations to the ways they manage their stress and mental health. After the student's choice behavior in each scenario, a virtual agent conveyed health-related educational messages via a text-modal dialogue box. Participants who took the interactive test in which there was a virtual agent perceived the test as more educational and entertaining than those who took the test without a virtual agent. Results of a path analysis also revealed a significant mediating role of enjoyment on educational outcomes (i.e., students' enjoyment of the interactive test mediated the effects of the presence of a virtual agent on their perceived educational value of health information), thus confirming the Entertainment-Education link. In addition, engaging in the interactive test resulted in stress management self-efficacy improvement. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
Year
DOI
Venue
2010
10.1016/j.chb.2009.12.003
Computers in Human Behavior
Keywords
Field
DocType
Virtual agent,Interactive test,Stress management,Entertainment–Education,Mediating role of enjoyment
Social psychology,Virtual agent,Stress management,Psychology,Path analysis (statistics),Mental health,Computer aided test,Psychometrics,Health information
Journal
Volume
Issue
ISSN
26
3
Computers in Human Behavior
Citations 
PageRank 
References 
3
0.56
15
Authors
1
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Seung-A Annie Jin123617.03