Factors Influencing Empathic Behaviors for Virtual Agents: -Examining about the Effect of Embodiment-

Empathy is important for smooth interaction. In this research, we focused on EQ (Empathy Quotient), which is an index to measure individuals' empathic ability, and analyzed behavior related to EQ, particularly the effect of participants' embodiment on empathic behavior. In the experiment, participants played a ball-tossing game with two agents. The experimental task was created by adapting the Cyberball game that has been used in studies of social psychology. We conducted the experiment under two conditions: an equitable scenario where the two agents toss evenly to participants and other agents; and an inequitable scenario where only one agent tosses only to participants. Then we compared the number of tosses performed by each participants. As a result, we found that the participants with high EQ tended to exclude the agent who did not receive tosses from the other agent, but that this exclusion was alleviated by embodiment.