Young Children's Mathematical Learning From Intelligent Characters

Area of Science:

• Educational Psychology
• Human-Computer Interaction
• Developmental Psychology

Background:

• Intelligent character games are increasingly used in early childhood education.
• The role of social meaningfulness and social contingency in children's learning from these characters is not fully understood.
• Parasocial relationships (PSRs) and parasocial interactions (PSIs) are key components of social engagement with media characters.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine how social meaningfulness (PSRs) and social contingency (PSIs, e.g., math talk) influence children's math learning in an intelligent character game.
• To investigate the impact of embodied characters and socially contingent replies on children's math performance and transfer of learning.

Main Methods:

• Three studies were conducted with 217 children (mean age 4.87 years).
• Children's parasocial relationships and math talk with an intelligent character were assessed.
• Performance was measured through virtual game play accuracy and speed, and a math transfer task with physical objects.

Main Results:

• Children's parasocial relationships and math talk with the intelligent character predicted faster and more accurate math responses.
• Exposure to an embodied character improved performance on a math transfer task.
• Socially contingent replies from the character, mediated by math talk, also enhanced math transfer.

Conclusions:

• Parasocial relationships and parasocial interactions with intelligent characters can significantly enhance children's math learning and transfer.
• Embodied characters and responsive interactions represent promising avenues for developing effective educational technologies for young children.
• Findings suggest new frontiers for 21st-century learning by leveraging social dynamics in human-AI educational contexts.