The role of gender and ethnicity in pedagogical agent perception

To investigate the role of pedagogical agent gender and ethnicity, 139 students were randomly assigned to one of four conditions, where agents differed by ethnicity (African-American, Caucasian) and gender (male, female). Results indicated a main effect for agent gender, in which male agents were perceived as more extraverted and agreeable than the female agents. Further, students working with the male agents were more satisfied with their performance and reported that the agents better facilitated self-regulation. An interaction effect revealed that students working with agents of the same ethnicity perceived the agents to be significantly more engaging and affable. Another significant interaction revealed that female students perceived the African-American agents to be more open to new things than the Caucasian agents, whereas the opposite was the case for the female students