Baylor, A. L. & Ebbers, S. (2003). The pedagogical agent split-persona effect: When two agents are better than one. Proceedings of World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia and Telecommunications, Honolulu, Hawaii, (pp. 459-462). Norfolk, VA: AACE.
Publication year: 2003

This experimental study examined the question as to whether it is more effective to have one pedagogical agent (Mentor) with combined expertise and motivational support or two separate agents – one with expertise (Expert) and one with motivational support (Motivator). It was found that having two separate pedagogical agents representing the two roles had a significantly more positive impact on both learning and the perceived value of the agents. This provides preliminary evidence for a pedagogical agent split-persona effect, suggesting that two separate and agents representing different functional roles may be preferable to one agent representing both of the roles.