Previous research focused on differences between interacting with a person-controlled avatar and a computer-controlled virtual agent. This study however examines an aspiring form of technology called agent representative which constitutes a mix of the former two interaction partner types since it is a computer agent which was previously instructed by a person to take over a task on the person's behalf. In an experimental lab study with a 2 × 3 between-subjects-design (N = 195), people believed to study either together with an agent representative, avatar, or virtual agent. The interaction partner was described to either possess high or low expertise, while always giving negative feedback regarding the participant's performance. Results show small but interesting differences regarding the type of agency. People attributed the most agency and blame to the person(s) behind the software and reported the most negative affect when interacting with an avatar, which was less the case for a person's agent representative and the least for a virtual agent. Level of expertise had no significant effect and other evaluation measures were not affected.

之前的研究侧重于与人控制的虚拟形象交互和计算机控制的虚拟代理交互之间的差异。然而，这项研究检查了一种称为代理代表的有抱负的技术形式，它构成了前两种交互伙伴类型的混合，因为它是一个计算机代理，之前由一个人指示代表该人接管任务。在一项采用 2 × 3 受试者间设计 (N = 195) 的实验性实验室研究中，人们相信与代理代表、化身或虚拟代理一起学习。互动伙伴被描述为具有高或低的专业知识，同时总是对参与者的表现给出负面反馈。结果显示了关于代理类型的微小但有趣的差异。人们将最多的代理和责任归咎于软件背后的人，并且在与化身交互时报告的负面影响最大，对于个人代理代表的情况较少，而对于虚拟代理则最少。专业水平没有显着影响，其他评估措施不受影响。