Anthropomorphic agents used in online-shopping need to be trusted by users so that users feel comfortable buying products. In this paper, we propose a model for designing trustworthy agents by assuming two factors of trust, that is, emotion and knowledgeableness perceived. Our hypothesis is that when a user feels happy and perceives an agent as being highly knowledgeable, a high level of trust results between the user and agent. We conducted four experiments with participants to verify this hypothesis by preparing transition operators utilizing emotional contagion and knowledgeable utterances. As a result, we verified that users' internal states transitioned as expected and that the two factors significantly influenced their trust states.

In prior works, the impression of elements of virtual agents/manga character and the overall impression of virtual agents/manga character were considered completely symmetric. In this work, we conducted a preliminary experiment to develop a system that creates designs of virtual agents depending on a text. In this experiment, the participants read the text and chose the image of an agent and social group that resembled their mental image. We introduced the lattice derived by the rough set induction method to suggest the model to analyze the mental image. In this model, we constructed the lattice from two interpretations to evaluate the complexity of the mental image generation process. As a result, the lattices derived by social groups and appearance were non-Boolean; however, those derived by two kinds of design features were not non-Boolean. This result shows that the mental appearance and social images cannot be combined voluntarily. This result showed that it is not symmetric between each element of virtual agents/manga character and overall virtual agents/manga character.

In Japan, many incidents regarding manga-like virtual agents have happened recently, in which critics have indicated that virtual agents used in public spaces are too sexual. Prior study defined this perception as “moe-phobia.” In many cases, critics have pointed to agents' clothes. However, after verifying actual moe-phobia incidents, I hypothesize that these incidents are associated with not only the agents' clothes but also the situations in which they are used. I conducted an experiment with three factors and two levels to verify this hypothesis. The independent values were the agents' clothes, usage scenario, and the gender of the participants. The dependent values were the agents' trustworthiness, familiarity, likability, sexuality, and suitability as perceived by humans. I conducted the experiment with female and male groups and conducted a three-way ANOVA for each dependent value for each group. As a result, I observed a different tendency regarding the impression of the agents between female and male groups; however, both groups had the same tendency regarding the perceived suitability. The female and male participants judged the agents' suitability from not only their clothes but also the scenario.

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