Can an angry pedagogical agent enhance mental effort and learning performance in a multimedia learning environment?

This study aims to examine if a pedagogical agent’s expressed anger, when framed as a feedback cue, can enhance mental effort and learning performance in a multimedia learning environment than expressed happiness. Design/methodology/approach A between-subjects experiment was conducted in which learners engaged with a multimedia learning material that taught programming algorithms, featuring a pedagogical agent who expressed anger or happiness as a feedback cue in response to the learners’ prior performance. Learners completed a self-reported scale and post-test for measuring mental effort and learning performance, respectively