Many laypeople are motivated to improve the health behavior of their family or friends but do not know where to start, especially if the health behavior is potentially stigmatizing or controversial. We present an approach that uses virtual agents to coach community-based volunteers in health counseling techniques, such as motivational interviewing, and allows them to practice these skills in role-playing scenarios. We use this approach in a virtual agent-based system to increase COVID-19 vaccination by empowering users to influence their social network. In a between-subjects comparative design study, we test the effects of agent system interactivity and role-playing functionality on counseling outcomes, with participants evaluated by standardized patients and objective judges. We find that all versions are effective at producing peer counselors who score adequately on a standardized measure of counseling competence, and that participants were significantly more satisfied with interactive virtual agents compared to passive viewing of the training material. We discuss design implications for interpersonal skills training systems based on our findings.

翻译：许多非专业人士有意愿改善家人或朋友的健康行为，却不知从何入手，尤其在涉及可能具有污名化或争议性的健康行为时。本研究提出一种利用虚拟代理指导社区志愿者掌握健康咨询技术（如动机性访谈）的方法，并允许他们通过角色扮演场景练习这些技能。我们将此方法应用于基于虚拟代理的系统，通过赋能用户影响其社交网络来提升COVID-19疫苗接种率。在一项组间对比设计研究中，我们测试了代理系统交互性与角色扮演功能对咨询效果的影响，参与者接受了标准化病人和客观评估员的测评。研究发现：所有系统版本均能有效培养出在标准化咨询能力测评中达到合格水平的同伴咨询员；与被动观看培训材料相比，参与者对交互式虚拟代理的满意度显著更高。最后，我们基于研究结果探讨了人际技能培训系统的设计启示。