Who is speaking and where: exploring the impact of social identity and environmental cues of VR embodied conversational agents on user perception

Abstract With the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence and virtual reality, Virtual Reality–Embodied Conversational Agents (VR-ECAs) are increasingly regarded as a promising approach to psychological support. However, existing research has not yet thoroughly examined how the social identity of ECAs and the type of Virtual Reality (VR) environment influence users’ cognitions and behavioral responses. To address this gap, this study employed a 2 × 2 experimental design (N = 33) to investig