A Dimensional Model for Cultural Behavior in Virtual Agents

This article may be used for research, teaching and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution , reselling , loan or sub-licensing, systematic supply or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae and drug doses should be independently verified with primary sources. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material. Intercultural training is becoming more important than ever before. As a result, there is a stronger need for developing more advanced educational methods. Virtual environments can provide an innovative approach in this area. Users can safely explore complicated intercultural situations by interacting with virtual agents that display human cultural behavior. However, current environments that address cultural aspects focus on explicit aspects such as gestures, spoken language, or norms. Implicit cultural manifestations, such as values, have been greatly disregarded and yet they are a fundamental aspect. This article addresses the integration of such implicit manifestations in an agent architecture, through a dimensional model based on anthropological studies. Using the implemented architecture, two different agent cultures were created. Users were asked to visualize and describe both cultures performing a short emergent story. Results confirmed that users perceived the two cultures with significant differences that were in congruence with the model used. INTRODUCTION Today, the world is becoming a much smaller place, and people from quite different cultures have now the chance to connect, interact, collaborate, and live with other cultures. As such, intercultural awareness is becoming more important than ever before. From a business perspective, companies are growing globally, and, as such, business in countries that have very different cultures is now commonplace. But this globalization is not easily achieved, and a cultural misunderstanding may result in a loss of an important deal. Therefore, companies are starting to provide The authors are solely responsible for the content of this publication. It does not represent the opinion of the EC or the FCT, which are not responsible for any use that might be made of data appearing therein. 553 intercultural training for their employees (Landis et al. 2003). …