Exploring the Impact of Affective Pedagogical Agents: Enhancing Emotional Engagement in Higher Education

Abstract

This study examines the influence of pedagogical agents on enhancing emotional engagement in higher education settings through the provision of cognitive and affective feedback. The research focuses on students in a collaborative “Database Systems and Design”, comparing the effects of feedback from a human teacher (control group) to those of an Affective Pedagogical Tutor (APT) (experimental group). Emotional engagement was measured through key positive emotions such as motivation, curiosity, optimism, confidence, and satisfaction, as well as the reduction in negative emotions like boredom, anger, insecurity, and anxiety. Results suggest that APT feedback was associated with higher levels of emotional engagement compared to teacher feedback. Cognitive feedback from the APT was perceived as supporting learning outcomes by offering detailed, task-specific guidance, while affective feedback further supported emotional regulation and positive emotional states. Students interacting with the APT reported feeling more motivated, curious, and optimistic, which contributed to sustained participation and greater confidence in their work. At the same time, boredom and anger were notably reduced in the experimental group. These findings illustrate the potential of affective pedagogical agents to complement educational experiences by fostering positive emotional states and mitigating barriers to engagement. By integrating affective and cognitive feedback, pedagogical agents can create more emotionally supportive and engaging learning environments, particularly in collaborative and complex academic tasks.