Individualized Virtual Humans for Social Skills Training

Individualized Cultural and Social Skills Learning with Virtual Humans

Catherine Zanbaka Research Statement

My primary research interest areas are human computer interaction, virtual humans, virtual environments, and 3D user interaction. In particular, I am interested in the comparison of human-human interaction to human-virtual human interaction in the context of social psychology. I have conducted experiments which have shown that some of the social influence theories from human-human interactions ...

Effect of Communication Skills Training by Workshop and Virtual Methods on Social Phobia in Nursing Students: A Comparative Study

Background: Considering the negative impact of social phobia on social interactions and the positive effect of communication skills training on this condition, the literature on the training methods that would be suitable for people with this condition seems deficient. This study aimed to compare the effect of communication skills training delivered via workshop and virtual met...

SoCIAL – training cognition in schizophrenia: a pilot study

The purpose of this pilot study was to assess the efficacy of a new social cognition (SC) remediation intervention, the Social Cognition Individualized Activities Lab (SoCIAL), for subjects with schizophrenia. The training includes a module for emotion recognition and one for theory of mind. A comparison with a validated cognitive remediation intervention, the Social Skills And Neurocognitive I...

Interactive Training Applications using Responsive Virtual Human Technology

Intelligent agents are being used in fields as diverse as computer generated forces, manufacturing, medicine, and theater. Where intelligent agents have not been employed, though, is in interaction skills training. But interaction skills--interviewing, negotiating, tactical communications, eliciting information--are critical to today's soldiers, police, and many professionals (e.g., doctors, la...