Let's Do It My Way: Effects of Personality and Age of Virtual Characters

Designing interactions between humans and virtual characters requires careful consideration of various human perceptions and user experiences. While numerous studies have explored the effects of several virtual characters' properties, the impacts of the virtual character's personality and age on human perceptions and experiences have yet to be thoroughly investigated. To address this gap, we conducted a within-group study (N = 28) following a 2 (personality: egoism vs. altruism) × 2 (age: child vs. adult) design to explore how the personality and age factors influence human perception and experience during interactions with virtual characters. In each condition of our study, our participants co-solved a jigsaw puzzle with a virtual character that embodied combinations of personality and age. After each condition, participants completed a survey. We also asked them to provide written feedback at the end of the study. Our statistical analyses revealed that the virtual character's personality and age significantly influenced participants' perceptions and experiences. The personality factor affected perceptions of altruism, anthropomorphism, likability, safety, and all aspects of user experience, including perceived collaboration, rapport, emotional reactivity, and the desire for future interaction. Additionally, the virtual character's age affected our participants' ratings of the uncanny valley and likability. We also identified an interaction effect between personality and age factors on the virtual character's anthropomorphism. Based on our findings, we offered guidelines and insights for researchers aiming to design collaborative experiences with virtual characters of different personalities and ages.