Exploring user experience and performance of a tedious task through human–agent relationship

Positive human–agent relationships can effectively improve human experience and performance in human–machine systems or environments. The characteristics of agents that enhance this relationship have garnered attention in human–agent or human–robot interactions. In this study, based on the rule of the persona effect, we study the effect of an agent’s social cues on human–agent relationships and human performance. We constructed a tedious task in an immersive virtual environment, designing virtual partners with varying levels of human likeness and responsiveness. Human likeness encompassed appearance, sound, and behavior, while responsiveness referred to the way agents responded to humans. Based on the constructed environment, we present two studies to explore the effects of an agent’s human likeness and responsiveness to agents on participants’ performance and perception of human–agent relationships during the task. The results indicate that when participants work with an agent, its responsiveness attracts attention and induces positive feelings. Agents with responsiveness and appropriate social response strategies have a significant positive effect on human–agent relationships. These results shed some light on how to design virtual agents to improve user experience and performance in human–agent interactions.