Effects of a Trainer Agent’s Positive Feedback on Mood and Motivation During Multi-task Training in Older Adults

Abstract

This study investigates how positive feedback from a trainer agent affects mood and motivation during multi-task training that combines walking and a computerized facial-expression reaction task. Twenty-four older adults (12 women; mean age 71 ± 6.39) completed two weekly sessions (45 minutes each, three 15-minute blocks per session) using a “Walk training robo” equipped with a display for the cognitive task and a tablet-based virtual trainer. We compared a With Feedback (WF) condition―agent greetings plus in-task and post-task positive reactions tied to performance and time prompts―against a No Feedback (NF) condition that retained neutral messages only. Mood, impressions of the agent, and motivation were assessed each week. Wilcoxon signed-rank tests showed that WF increased negative mood items (e.g., “irritated,”“sad”) relative to NF and reduced perceived “ professionalism, ” while increasing training-related satisfaction (trend) and intention to continue (significant). Observations suggested that repeated upbeat reactions from the trainer agent during errors may have conflicted with participants’ self-evaluation, eliciting frustration even as moment-to-moment prompts fostered persistence. These findings indicate that, in cognitively demanding multi-task contexts, overly positive but weakly calibrated feedback can harm affect and perceived expertise, yet still bolster motivational outcomes. Designing feedback that balances positivity with situational accuracy may optimize both affective and motivational effects for older adult training.