The impact of pedagogical agent’s emotional expression on multimedia learning: a multi-faceted perspective

The present study conducted two experiments to investigate the impact of pedagogical agent’s emotional expression on multimedia learning from multi-faceted perspectives. Experiment 1 explored the overall impact of the pedagogical agent’s emotional expression (positive vs. neutral) on learning from a macro perspective. The positive pedagogical agent (PPA) had a smiling face and an enthusiastic voice, while the neutral pedagogical agent (NPA) displayed a neutral facial expression and a neutral voice. Sixty undergraduate students were randomly assigned to one of two conditions. Results showed that compared to NPA, PPA increased enjoyment but also induced frustration. Furthermore, it had no significant impact on intrinsic motivation or learning performance. Building on the results of Experiment 1, Experiment 2 explored the dynamic impact of the pedagogical agent’s emotional expression (positive vs. neutral) on learning processes from a micro perspective. Results showed that the dynamic impact of the pedagogical agent’s emotional expression was emotional-specific: PPA had an obvious advantage over NPA only when learners were enjoyable. However, presenting a PPA when learners were surprised could hinder learning. When learners felt frustrated and confused, PPA and NPA had their own advantages and disadvantages. Learners could benefit from both types of pedagogical agents when their emotions were neutral but disengaged from learning when they were bored. Therefore, pedagogical agents should identify learners’ emotions in real time and exhibit positive emotions on appropriate occasions.