Sahba Zojaji

Chinese University of Hong Kong Shenzhen

Politeness and embodiment are pivotal elements in human-agent interactions. While many previous works advocate the positive role of embodiment in enhancing these interactions, it remains unclear how embodiment and politeness affect individuals joining groups. In this paper, we explore how politeness behaviors (verbal and nonverbal) exhibited by thr...

In both physical and virtual environments, small group interactions significantly shape our social experiences. Understanding and replicating situated group interactions with virtual agents or physical robots pose possibilities and challenges. Central to these challenges lies the critical aspect of politeness, which serves as a fundamental cornerst...

Politeness is critical for shaping human-human interactions and therefore seems an important consideration in human interactions with Embodied Conversational Agents (ECAs). However, the impact of artificially-generated politeness behaviors on humans in Virtual Environments (VE) is not clear. We explore the impact of immersiveness on the perceived p...

Politeness is at the core of the common set of behavioral norms that regulate human communication and is therefore of significant interest in the design of Human-Robot Interactions. In this paper, we investigate how the politeness behaviors of a humanoid robot impact human decisions about where to join a group of two robots. We also evaluate the re...

Politeness is at the core of the common set of behavioral norms that regulate human communication and is therefore of significant interest in the design of Human-Robot Interactions. In this paper, we investigate how the politeness behaviors of a humanoid robot impact human decisions about where to join a group of two robots. We also evaluate the re...

Multimodal communication is essential in human interactions, as it allows for a more comprehensive and nuanced exchange of information and emotions. The use of multiple communication channels such as speech, body language, and gaze can enhance the clarity and richness of the communication, leading to better understanding and more effective social i...

When modeling lifelike Embodied Conversational Agents (ECAs), conveying politeness through verbal and nonverbal behaviors with persuasive intents is a significant challenge, as it underlies the conventional set of behavioral rules that govern human communication. In the present study, we explore the adherence to such rules in the context of joining...

Urban spaces are defined by degrees of axial and convex extension. Space Syntax research has predominantly emphasized axial lines and maps and considered convexity through isovists and visibility graphs. Axiality emphasizes movement or flow and creates axi al maps as two-dimensional networks. Convexity of urban space is aural and shaped by vision a...

The analysis and simulation of the interactions that occur in group situations is important when humans and artificial agents, physical or virtual, must coordinate when inhabiting similar spaces or even collaborate, as in the case of human-robot teams. Artificial systems should adapt to the natural interfaces of humans rather than the other way aro...

Politeness behaviors could affect individuals' decisions heavily in their daily lives and may therefore also play an important role in human-agent interactions. This study considers the impact of politeness behaviors made by a virtual agent, already in a small face-to-face conversational group with another agent, on a human participant as they appr...

Verbal and non-verbal behaviors that we use in order to effectively communicate with other people are vital for our success in our daily lives. Despite the importance of social skills, creating standardized methods for training them and supporting their training is challenging. Information and Communications Technology (ICT) may have a good potenti...

Intelligent Virtual Agents are suitable means for interactive storytelling for children. The engagement level of child interaction with virtual agents is a challenging issue in this area. However, the characteristics of child-agent interaction received moderate to little attention in scientific studies whereas such knowledge may be crucial to desig...