Pedagogical agents show essentially no effect on learners' intrinsic motivation (g = 0.00)¶
Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · quant-synthesisr2·q3·i0negligible
Currency · newest study 2025 · checked against its sources 2026-10-20 (automated, 1 of 1 entry) · not reviewed by a person
Subclaims¶
Reading the evidence codes
q is the design tier, i the impact, n the sample, and the kind with its r
the rigour judged within that kind: what each code means.
This claim: no standardized effect is recorded in observations/ for it yet, so no benchmark reading is possible.
q3 i0 Across 23 comparisons from 3 studies, PAs showed essentially no influence on intrinsic motivation (g = 0.00, p = 0.99). → Gladstone 2025
Evidence¶
Gladstone 2025¶
Gladstone, J. R., Schroeder, N. L., Heidig, S., Zhang, S., Palaguachi, C., & Pitera, M. (2025). Do Pedagogical Agents Enhance Student Motivation? Unraveling the Evidence Through Meta-Analysis. Educational Psychology Review. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-025-10050-2
q3 · i0 · quant-synthesis · r2
Three-level meta-analysis with CHERVE of PA-versus-non-PA comparisons measuring intrinsic motivation. The pooled effect was effectively zero, with significant heterogeneity (Q(22) = 56.97, p < 0.001).
"The random effects 3LMA with CHERVE examining the effects of PAs on learners' intrinsic motivation showed that PAs have essentially no influence (g = 0.00, p = 0.99, kcomparisons = 23, kstudies = 3)."
Discussion¶
Learner Variables¶
- Motivation — outcome: instruction changes it
Related Claims¶
- Pedagogical agents significantly improve learners' self-efficacy expectations (g = 0.29), with effects moderated by grade level, facial expressions, and reliability reporting — related
- Pedagogical agents do not significantly affect learners' engagement (g = -0.02, non-significant) — related
- Pedagogical agents have a small, statistically significant positive effect on learners' broadly defined 'motivation' (g = 0.20) — related
- Pedagogical agents do not significantly affect learners' value beliefs (g = 0.09, non-significant) — related
- Pedagogical agents show a small-to-moderate but non-significant effect on learners' utility beliefs (g = 0.34, p = 0.05) — related
- Pedagogical agents significantly improve learners' interest (g = 0.30), with the effect depending on the type of control condition — related
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
claim |
id |
pa-no-effect-intrinsic-motivation |
title |
Pedagogical agents show essentially no effect on learners' intrinsic motivation (g = 0.00) |
description |
Pedagogical agents show essentially no effect on learners' intrinsic motivation (g = 0.00) |
status |
review |
evidence_strength |
weak |
newest_evidence |
2025 |
source_checked |
2026-10-20 |
generated |
by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-10-19 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
1 — gladstone-2025 |
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