The Impact of Customizing Pedagogical Agents on Learners’ Intrinsic Motivation and Satisfaction in Augmented Reality

Embodied Pedagogical Agents (EPAs) are increasingly used in Extended Reality (XR) educational and training applications. Drawing on Self-Determination Theory (SDT), this work-in-progress investigates whether allowing learners to customize an EPA’s physical appearance supports perceived autonomy and intrinsic motivation. We present an LLM-driven embodied pedagogical agent for augmented reality and describe a planned 2 × 2 within-subject study examining the effects of appearance customization (Customized vs. Non-Customized) and instructional role (Peer vs. Expert). The study will assess autonomy satisfaction, intrinsic motivation, perceived relatedness, and behavioral engagement during an AR-based mathematics learning task.