Deliverable 4.4 - INSEAD CALT

AtGentive IST-4-027529-STP - Attentive Agents for Collaborative LearnersSummaryThe present study investigated the effects of a computer agent’s gestures inguiding a user’s attention on screen. The aim was to find out how an agentcharacter’s gestures can be used to attract and direct attention to visualinterventions, when using a computer program or environment. To do this, weconducted an experiment where the user was presented with the followingstimulus. First, an agent character appeared on the screen. Then, twosimultaneous visual interventions were briefly shown and the agent gesturedtowards one of them. After this, the user was asked to remember the content ofthe interventions. The user’s gaze was tracked with the help of an eye tracker todetermine where his or her attention was focused during the tasks. The place ofthe agent and the direction of the intervention were systematically varied duringthe tasks. The results showed that the agent’s gesture had a significant effect onhow well the participants were able to remember the targeted intervention object.Del 4.4: AtGentive Final Evaluation Report – Appendix B page 2