Socially Interactive Agents as Cobot Avatars: Developing a Model to Support Flow Experiences and Well-Being in the Workplace

This study evaluates a socially interactive agent to create an em- bodied cobot. It tests a real-time continuous emotional modeling method and an aligned transparent behavioral model, BASSF (bore- dom, anxiety, self-efficacy, self-compassion, flow). The BASSF model anticipates and counteracts counterproductive emotional experi- ences of operators working under stress with cobots on tedious tasks. The flow experience is represented in the three-dimensional pleasure, arousal, and dominance (PAD) space. The embodied cov- atar (cobot and avatar) is introduced to support flow experiences through emotion regulation guidance. The study tests the model's main theoretical assumptions about flow, dominance, self-efficacy, and boredom. Twenty participants worked on a task for an hour, assembling pieces in collaboration with the covatar. After the task, participants completed questionnaires on flow, their affective expe- rience, and self-efficacy, and they were interviewed to understand their emotions and regulation during the task. The results suggest that the dominance dimension plays a vital role in task-related settings as it predicts the participants' self-efficacy and flow. How- ever, the relationship between flow, pleasure, and arousal requires further investigation. Qualitative interview analysis revealed that participants regulated negative emotions, like boredom, also with- out support, but some strategies could negatively impact well-being and productivity, which aligns with theory.