Enhancing the Well-Being of Seniors: A Teachable Agent for Ikigai

Abstract

Ikigai, a Japanese term often referred to as “purpose in life” or “the feeling that life is worthwhile”, is a commonly used indicator of well-being in studies focused on the elderly population in Japan. It can be identified within the different realms like family, work, and friendship. However, as individuals age, their sense of ikigai is prone to diminish. Teachable agents (TAs) have been employed in educational settings for decades to facilitate learning by teaching students. Previous research has indicated that TAs can have a positive impact on self-esteem which is an important aspect of ikigai. TAs may hold the potential to address issues related to declining ikigai that are often associated with aging. By engaging in the act of teaching the agent, elderly individuals may experience a sense of being needed, consequently enhancing their self-esteem and potentially leading to an improvement in their ikigai levels. In this paper, we introduce a TA designed around the concept of ikigai, aiming at assisting the elderly in maintaining a high level of ikigai to support healthy aging. Based on a user study conducted using the phenomenographical approach, we demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed TA design.