Embodied conversational agents as peer collaborators: Effects of multiplicity and modality

The goal of this study was to investigate the efficient use of role-taking embodied conversational agents in the facilitation of creative cognition during collaborative activities. Two factors were investigated through an experimental design addressing the number of conversational agents (one vs. two), and method of communication (voice vs. text). Participants engaged in a simple interpretation game with embodied conversational agents. The agents made suggestions on the quality of the participants' interpretations. We investigated how the two factors enhanced the quality and quantity of interpretations in collaborative activities. Results showed that the use of single agents and text-based interfaces enhanced the quantity of the creative interpretations, and the synergy created by the use of multiple agents along with a voice communication method enhanced the quality of creative interpretations. These results suggest that the number of agents and the method of communication are important in the effective use of embodied conversational agents as collaborating peers.