Virtual Agent Design for Social Skills Training Considering Autistic Traits

Social skills training by human coaches is a well-established method to obtain appropriate social interaction skills and strengthen social self-efficacy. Our previous works automated social skills training by developing a virtual agent that teaches social skills through interaction. This study attempts to investigate the effect of virtual agent design on automated social skills training. We prepared images and videos of a virtual agent, and a total of 912 crowdsourced workers rated the virtual agents by answering questions. We investigated the acceptability, likeability, and other impressions of the virtual agents and their relationship to the individuals’ characteristics to design personalized virtual agents. As a result, a female anime-type virtual agent was rated as the most likable. We also confirmed that participants’ gender, age, and autistic traits are related to the ratings. We believe our findings are important in designing a personalized virtual trainer.Clinical relevance― This study examines the effect of virtual agent design on social skills training. Our findings are important in designing a personalized virtual trainer.