This study investigates whether the social facilitation effect takes place when a person performs a computerized task that includes an animated intelligent agent (IA). The moderating effects of two individual differences, locus of control (LOC) and microcomputer playfulness (MCP), are tested for. It was proposed that an IA's presence would cause participants to exhibit this effect and that LOC and MCP would moderate a participant's arousal, measured as state anxiety, such that those possessing an internal LOC and those exhibiting high MCP would experience less arousal when performing computerized tasks with an IA present. Data was analyzed using a 2 (task difficulty) x 4 (intelligent agent) repeated measures MANCOVA. Most hypotheses are not supported, however MCP does appear to moderate arousal depending on the behavior of the IA.

Title from PDF of title page. / Document formatted into pages; contains 100 pages. / Thesis (M.A.)--University of South Florida, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references. / Text (Electronic thesis) in PDF format. / ABSTRACT: This study investigates whether the social facilitation effect takes place when a person performs a computerized task that includes an animated intelligent agent (IA). The moderating effects of two individual differences, locus of control (LOC) and microcomputer playfulness (MCP), are tested for. It was proposed that an IA's presence would cause participants to exhibit this effect and that LOC and MCP would moderate a participant's arousal, measured as state anxiety, such that those possessing an internal LOC and those exhibiting high MCP would experience less arousal when performing computerized tasks with an IA present. Data was analyzed using a 2 (task difficulty) x 4 (intelligent agent) repeated measures MANCOVA. Most hypotheses are not supported, however MCP does appear to moderate arousal depending on the behavior of the IA. / System requirements: World Wide Web browser and PDF reader. / Mode of access: World Wide Web.