Agreeableness of a Virtual Agent: Effects of Reciprocity and Need for Help

Agreeableness is one of the key personalities expected to a virtual agent as a social interactant, as the agent's primary role is to provide help and assistance. Based on the theoretical background of the Computers-Are-Social-Actors (CASA) paradigm, this study aims to identify factors affecting the perceived agreeableness of virtual agents. Focusing on the reciprocity rule of help and users' need for help, an online experiment was conducted with a 2 (help type: reciprocal vs. unconditional) x 2 (need for help: wanted vs. not wanted) between-subjects design. The findings demonstrated that the agent providing unconditional help, compared to the agent that provided reciprocated help, was perceived to be more socially attractive, while marginally significant results were observed in terms of perceived agreeableness. In addition, the recipient's unwanted help damaged users' perception of the agent's agreeableness and social attraction. Both theoretical and practical implications are discussed.