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Moe-Phobia: Effect of Users' Gender on Perceived Sexuality and Likability Toward Manga-Like Virtual Agents

Tetsuya Matsui1

  • 1Department of Robotics, Faculty of Robotics and Design, Osaka Institute of Technology, Osaka, Japan.

Frontiers in Psychology
|May 26, 2022
PubMed

Insights

Moe-phobia, the perception of virtual agents as too sexual, is influenced by both agent appearance and usage context, not just clothing. This study examined how virtual agent design and scenarios impact human perception across genders.

Area of Science:

  • Human-Computer Interaction
  • Virtual Agent Design
  • Social Psychology

Background:

  • Recent incidents in Japan highlighted concerns over overly sexualized manga-like virtual agents in public spaces.
  • This perception has been termed 'moe-phobia,' with critics often focusing on agent attire.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate whether 'moe-phobia' is solely due to virtual agent clothing or also influenced by usage scenarios.
  • To analyze the impact of agent appearance, scenario, and participant gender on perceptions of virtual agents.

Main Methods:

  • An experiment was conducted with three factors (agent clothing, usage scenario, participant gender) at two levels each.
  • Three-way ANOVA was used to analyze dependent variables: trustworthiness, familiarity, likability, sexuality, and suitability.
  • Participants were divided into female and male groups for analysis.

Main Results:

  • Gender differences were observed in the overall impression of virtual agents.
  • Both female and male participants showed similar tendencies in judging agent suitability.
  • Perceived suitability was influenced by both agent clothing and the usage scenario for all participants.

Conclusions:

  • The perception of virtual agents, particularly concerning 'moe-phobia,' is a complex issue influenced by multiple factors beyond just appearance.
  • Understanding the interplay between agent design, context, and user demographics is crucial for developing appropriate virtual agents for public use.
Keywords:
gender biashuman-agent interactionmanga-like charactermoe-phobiavirtual agent

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