The virtual little albert experiment: Creating conditioned emotion response in virtual agents

Agent designers typically specify how an agent should interpret stimuli it receives. Designers also provide the agent with a list of actions from which the agent chooses a response based on the stimulation. We present a system where the agent's response to new stimuli is based solely on its memory and emotional state with no predefined response suggested other than for unconditioned stimuli like getting burned or, in this case, hearing a scary noise. We then let unspecified emotion emerge within the agent for newly encountered stimuli by association with these unconditioned stimuli. We use our agent to recreate a virtual version of the Little Albert Experiment, and were able to reproduce a form of conditioned emotion response without directing the agent's perception, appraisal or response.