Two motivational artificial beings are better than one for enhancing learning: Researchers find that praise delivered by robots and virtual agents improves offline learning

In a study published this month in PLOS ONE, researchers from the University of Tsukuba have shown that motor task performance in participants was significantly enhanced by praise from either one or two robots or virtual agents. Although praise from robots and virtual agents has been found to enhance human motivation and performance during a task, whether these interactions have similar effects on offline skill consolidation, which is an essential component of the learning process, has not been investigated. Further, the various conditions associated with the delivery of praise by robot and virtual agents have not been thoroughly explored previously. The researchers at the University of Tsukuba aimed to address these questions in the present study. "Previous studies have shown that praise from others can positively affect offline improvements in human motor skills," says first author Masahiro Shiomi. "However, whether praise from artificial beings can have similar effects on offline improvements has not been explored previously."