The zoomorphic effect: A contribution to the study of images of pedagogical agents for children's learning in instructional videos

Abstract Background Zoomorphism, an obverse of conventional anthropomorphism, has been shown in many cases to be a powerful tool with respect to the metaphorical use of animals. Objectives This study introduced zoomorphism into the instructional video design of pedagogical agents (PAs). Method We first developed three image sets, each of which corresponded to a type of zoomorphic PA image construct (full panda, a human face with a panda body, and a human body with panda head imagery). Then, we conducted an image‐screening experiment in which 177 second‐grade students from a primary school were asked to select their favourite PA image for each image construct set. We used a realistic human PA as the baseline. Next, 114 second‐grade students from another school were randomly assigned to learn instructional videos on the topic of pandas using a PA with one of four imageries. Results and Conclusions ANOVA and Kruskal–Wallis tests indicated that students presented with PAs with full‐panda imagery achieved significantly higher learning performance, learning experience, social presence, and learning interest than those presented with other imageries of PAs. The regression results showed that the effect of zoomorphic PAs with full‐panda imagery on learning performance was exerted in a direct way and that its effect on learning experience was mediated by social presence and learning interest. Implications Our findings suggest that zoomorphic appearance is an essential quality for video learning that merits further investigation for the efficient imagery construction of PAs.