scholarly journals Utilizing Neutral Affective States in Research: Theory, Assessment, and Recommendations

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 255-266 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Gasper
Keyword(s):  
Theoretical Basis ◽  
Affective State ◽  
Affective States ◽  
Middle State ◽  
Theoretical Assumptions ◽  
Neutral Affect

Even though researchers regularly use neutral affect induction procedures (AIPs) as a control condition in their work, there is little consensus on what is neutral affect. This article reviews five approaches that researchers have used to operationalize neutral AIPs: to produce a(n) (a) minimal affective state, (b) in-the-middle state, (c) deactivated state, (d) typical state, or (e) indifferent state. For each view, the article delineates the theoretical basis for the neutral AIP, how to assess it, and provides recommendations for when and how to use it. The goal of the article is to encourage researchers to state their theoretical assumptions about neutral affect, to validate those assumptions, and to make appropriate conclusions based on them.

scholarly journals Towards estimating affective states in Virtual Reality based on behavioral data

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valentin Holzwarth ◽  
Johannes Schneider ◽  
Joshua Handali ◽  
Joy Gisler ◽  
Christian Hirt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Adaptive Systems ◽  
User Study ◽  
Affective State ◽  
Head Movements ◽  
Affective States ◽  
Physical Demand ◽  
Perceived Performance ◽  
Sequential Administration ◽  
Better Than

AbstractInferring users’ perceptions of Virtual Environments (VEs) is essential for Virtual Reality (VR) research. Traditionally, this is achieved through assessing users’ affective states before and after being exposed to a VE, based on standardized, self-assessment questionnaires. The main disadvantage of questionnaires is their sequential administration, i.e., a user’s affective state is measured asynchronously to its generation within the VE. A synchronous measurement of users’ affective states would be highly favorable, e.g., in the context of adaptive systems. Drawing from nonverbal behavior research, we argue that behavioral measures could be a powerful approach to assess users’ affective states in VR. In this paper, we contribute by providing methods and measures evaluated in a user study involving 42 participants to assess a users’ affective states by measuring head movements during VR exposure. We show that head yaw significantly correlates with presence, mental and physical demand, perceived performance, and system usability. We also exploit the identified relationships for two practical tasks that are based on head yaw: (1) predicting a user’s affective state, and (2) detecting manipulated questionnaire answers, i.e., answers that are possibly non-truthful. We found that affective states can be predicted significantly better than a naive estimate for mental demand, physical demand, perceived performance, and usability. Further, manipulated or non-truthful answers can also be estimated significantly better than by a naive approach. These findings mark an initial step in the development of novel methods to assess user perception of VEs.

scholarly journals The Interpretation of E-Motions in Faces and Bodies Derived from Static Artworks by Individuals with High Functioning Autistic Spectrum

Vision ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 17
Author(s):  
Maria Elisa Della-Torre ◽  
Daniele Zavagno ◽  
Rossana Actis-Grosso
Keyword(s):  
Positive Emotions ◽  
Emotional Experience ◽  
Affective State ◽  
Likert Scale ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Emotional Expressions ◽  
Affective States ◽  
Dynamic Component ◽  
Specific Emotion ◽  
Similar Range

E-motions are defined as those affective states the expressions of which—conveyed either by static faces or body posture—embody a dynamic component and, consequently, convey a higher sense of dynamicity than other emotional expressions. An experiment is presented, aimed at testing whether e-motions are perceived as such also by individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), which have been associated with impairments in emotion recognition and in motion perception. To this aim we replicate with ASD individuals a study, originally conducted with typically developed individuals (TDs), in which we showed to both ASD and TD participants 14 bodiless heads and 14 headless bodies taken from eleven static artworks and four drawings. The Experiment was divided into two sessions. In Session 1 participants were asked to freely associate each stimulus to an emotion or an affective state (Task 1, option A); if they were unable to find a specific emotion, the experimenter showed them a list of eight possible emotions (words) and asked them to choose one from such list, that best described the affective state portrayed in the image (Task 1, option B). After their choice, they were asked to rate the intensity of the perceived emotion on a seven point Likert scale (Task 2). In Session 2 participants were requested to evaluate the degree of dynamicity conveyed by each stimulus on a 7 point Likert scale. Results showed that ASDs and TDs shared a similar range of verbal expressions defining emotions; however, ASDs (i) showed an impairment in the ability to spontaneously assign an emotion to a headless body, and (ii) they more frequently used terms denoting negative emotions (for both faces and bodies) as compared to neutral emotions, which in turn were more frequently used by TDs. No difference emerged between the two groups for positive emotions, with happiness being the emotion better recognized in both faces and in bodies. Although overall there are no significant differences between the two groups with respect to the emotions assigned to the images and the degree of perceived dynamicity, the interaction Artwork x Group showed that for some images ASDs assigned a different value than TDs to perceived dynamicity. Moreover, two images were interpreted by ASDs as conveying completely different emotions than those perceived by TDs. Results are discussed in light of the ability of ASDs to resolve ambiguity, and of possible different cognitive styles characterizing the aesthetical/emotional experience.

scholarly journals Effects of Classroom Activities on Affective State—A Comparison of Third and Fifth Graders

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Fartoukh ◽  
Lucile Chanquoy
Keyword(s):  
Academic Performance ◽  
Educational Psychology ◽  
Grade Level ◽  
Fifth Graders ◽  
Affective State ◽  
Third Graders ◽  
Cognitive Resources ◽  
Affective States ◽  
Classroom Activities ◽  
School Day

<p>We analysed the influence of classroom activities on children’s affective states. Children perform many different activities in the course of an ordinary school day, some of which may trigger changes in their affective state and thus in the availability of their cognitive resources and their degree of motivation. To observe the effects of two such activities (listening to a text and performing a dictation) on affective state, according to grade, we asked 39 third graders and 40 fifth graders to specify their affective state at several points in the day. Results showed that this state varied from one activity to another, and was also dependent on grade level. Third graders differed from fifth graders in the feelings elicited by the activities. The possible implications of these findings for the field of educational psychology and children’s academic performance are discussed.</p>

scholarly journals Intelligent Monitoring of Affective Factors Underlying Sport Performance by Means of Wearable and Mobile Technology

Proceedings ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (19) ◽  
pp. 1202 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Bailon ◽  
Miguel Damas ◽  
Hector Pomares ◽  
Daniel Sanabria ◽  
Pandelis Perakakis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wearable Sensors ◽  
Affective State ◽  
Sport Performance ◽  
Affective States ◽  
Complete Evaluation ◽  
Affective Factors ◽  
Physiological Variables ◽  
Sport Events ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

The fluctuation of affective states is a contributing factor to sport performance variability. The context surrounding athletes during their daily life and the evolution of their physiological variables beyond sport events are relevant factors, as they modulate the affective state of the subject over time. However, traditional procedures to assess the affective state are limited to self-reported questionnaires within controlled settings, thus removing the impact of the context. This work proposes a multimodal, context-aware platform that combines the data acquired through smartphones and wearable sensors to assess the affective state of the athlete. The platform is aimed at ubiquitously monitoring the fluctuations of affective states during longitudinal studies within naturalistic environments, overcoming the limitations of previous studies and allowing for the complete evaluation of the factors that could modulate the affective state. This system will also facilitate and expedite the analysis of the relationship between affective states and sport performance.

scholarly journals Losing stinks! The effect of competition outcome on body odour quality

2020 ◽  
Vol 375 (1800) ◽  
pp. 20190267 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jitka Fialová ◽  
Vít Třebický ◽  
Radim Kuba ◽  
David Stella ◽  
Jakub Binter ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Human Body ◽  
Dominance Hierarchy ◽  
Affective State ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Olfactory Communication ◽  
Affective States ◽  
Formal Level ◽  
Body Odour ◽  
Axillary Odour

Dominance hierarchy is often established via repeated agonistic encounters where consistent winners are considered dominant. Human body odour contains cues to psychological dominance and competition, but it is not known whether competition outcome (a marker of a change in dominance hierarchy) affects the hedonic quality of human axillary odour. Therefore, we investigated the effect of winning and losing on odour quality. We collected odour samples from Mixed Martial Arts fighters approximately 1 h before and immediately after a match. Raters then assessed samples for pleasantness, attractiveness, masculinity and intensity. We also obtained data on donors' affective state and cortisol and testosterone levels, since these are known to be associated with competition and body odour quality. Perceived body odour pleasantness, attractiveness and intensity significantly decreased while masculinity increased after a match irrespective of the outcome. Nonetheless, losing a match affected the pleasantness of body odour more profoundly, though bordering formal level of significance. Moreover, a path analysis revealed that match loss led to a decrease in odour attractiveness, which was mediated by participants’ negative affective states. Our study suggests that physical competition and to some extent also its outcome affect the perceived quality of human body odour in specific real-life settings, thus providing cues to dominance-related characteristics. This article is part of the Theo Murphy meeting issue ‘Olfactory communication in humans’.

THE INTERACTION OF INTUITION AND RATIONALITY DURING ESCALATED NPD DECISIONS: AN INVESTIGATION OF DECISION-MAKERS’ AFFECTIVE STATES

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (04) ◽  
pp. 2050033
Author(s):  
TOBIAS ROETH ◽  
PATRICK SPIETH ◽  
VERENA JOACHIM
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
New Product Development ◽  
Affective State ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Affective States ◽  
Escalating Commitment ◽  
Decision Making Styles ◽  
Intuitive Decision Making ◽  
Affect Infusion Model ◽  
Commitment Escalation

Decision-makers often struggle to terminate unsuccessful new product development (NPD) projects, so that escalating commitment occurs. Although research shows that rational and intuitive decision-making styles (DMS) as well as a decision-maker’s affective state determines the performance of NPD decisions, little is known about their influences on escalating commitment. By applying the affect infusion model in an experimental study, we investigate how a decision-maker’s affective state influence their escalating commitment by focusing on their use of a rational and an intuitive DMS. Our findings, based on 366 respondents, show that a rational DMS is unable to reduce commitment escalation. Surprisingly, an intuitive DMS is able to reduce a decision-maker’s commitment in the case of a positive affect, whereas a rational DMS increases their commitment in the case of a negative affect. Thus, our interdisciplinary research on affect and decision-making extends and contributes to research into decision-making during the NPD process as well as into escalating commitment.

scholarly journals How Do We Empathize with Someone Who Is Not Like Us? A Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study

2010 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 362-376 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claus Lamm ◽  
Andrew N. Meltzoff ◽  
Jean Decety
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Resonance Imaging ◽  
Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging ◽  
Affective State ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Affective Processing ◽  
Affective States ◽  
Functional Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Resonance Imaging ◽  
Affective Stimuli

Previous research on the neural underpinnings of empathy has been limited to affective situations experienced in a similar way by an observer and a target individual. In daily life we also interact with people whose responses to affective stimuli can be very different from our own. How do we understand the affective states of these individuals? We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to assess how participants empathize with the feelings of patients who reacted with no pain to surgical procedures but with pain to a soft touch. Empathy for pain of these patients activated the same areas (insula, medial/anterior cingulate cortex) as empathy for persons who responded to painful stimuli in the same way as the observer. Empathy in a situation that was aversive only for the observer but neutral for the patient recruited areas involved in self–other distinction (dorsomedial prefrontal cortex) and cognitive control (right inferior frontal cortex). In addition, effective connectivity between the latter and areas implicated in affective processing was enhanced. This suggests that inferring the affective state of someone who is not like us can rely upon the same neural structures as empathy for someone who is similar to us. When strong emotional response tendencies exist though, these tendencies have to be overcome by executive functions. Our results demonstrate that the fronto-cortical attention network is crucially involved in this process, corroborating that empathy is a flexible phenomenon which involves both automatic and controlled cognitive mechanisms. Our findings have important implications for the understanding and promotion of empathy, demonstrating that regulation of one's egocentric perspective is crucial for understanding others.

Exploring the Link Between Task Complexity and Students’ Affective States During Engineering Laboratory Activities

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qianyu Hu ◽  
Shruthi Bezawada ◽  
Allison Gray ◽  
Conrad Tucker ◽  
Timothy Brick
Keyword(s):  
Task Complexity ◽  
Affective State ◽  
Dropping Out ◽  
Affective States ◽  
Weak Correlation ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Fundamental Understanding ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
And Task

Assessment and feedback play an instrumental role in an individual’s learning process. Continued assistance is required to help students learn better and faster. This need is especially prominent in engineering laboratories where students must perform a wide range of tasks using different machines. One approach to understanding how students feel towards using certain machines is to assess their affective states while they use these machines. Affective state can be defined as the state of feeling an emotion. The authors of this work hypothesize that there is a correlation between students’ perceived affective states and task complexity. By adopting the Wood’s complexity model, the authors propose to assess how the correlations of perceived affective states of students change while they perform tasks of different complexity. In this study, each student performs a “hard” and an “easy” task on the same machine. Each student is given the same tasks using the same materials. Knowledge gained from testing this hypothesis will provide a fundamental understanding of the tasks that negatively impact students’ affective states and risk them potentially dropping out of STEM tracks, and the tasks that positively impact students’ affective states and encourage them to engage in more STEM-related activities. A case study involving 22 students using a power saw machine is conducted. Perceived affective states and completion time were collected. It was found that task complexity has an effect on subjects’ affective states. In addition, we observed some weak correlation between some of the perceived affective states and laboratory task performance. The distribution of correlation between affective states may change as the tasks change. With the knowledge of the relationship between task complexity and affective states, there is the potential to predict students’ affective states before starting a given engineering task.

On Line-Affective State Monitoring Device Design

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anja Lanz ◽  
Elizabeth Croft
Keyword(s):  
Affective State ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Human Robot Interaction ◽  
Calibration Data ◽  
Affective States ◽  
Device Design ◽  
State Monitoring ◽  
Robot Interaction ◽  
State Data ◽  
On Line

The monitoring of human affective state is a key part of developing responsive and naturally behaving human-robot interaction systems. However, evaluation and calibration of physiologically monitored affective state data is typically done using offline questionnaires and user reports. This paper investigates the potential to use an on-line device to collect user self reports that can be then used to calibrate physiologically generated affective state data. The collection of on-line calibration data is particularly germane to human-robot interaction where the physiological responses of interest include those related to more high frequency affective state events related to arousal (surprise, fear, alarm) as well as the more low frequency events (contentment, boredom, pleasure). In this context, this paper describes the development of an experimental device, and a preliminary study, to answer the question: Can people report, on-line, two degree of freedom continuous affective states using a hand held device suitable for calibration of physiologically obtained signals? In the following paper, we report on both the device design and user trials. Further work, using the device to calibrate existing models of the user’s affective state during human-robot interaction, is ongoing and will be reported at the time of the conference.

scholarly journals Environmental Complexity, but Not Stocking Density, Positively Impacts Affective States of Broiler Chickens

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.G. Anderson ◽  
A.M. Campbell ◽  
A. Crump ◽  
G. Arnott ◽  
L. Jacobs
Keyword(s):  
Broiler Chickens ◽  
Environmental Enrichment ◽  
Resource Competition ◽  
Affective State ◽  
Stocking Density ◽  
Food Motivation ◽  
Affective States ◽  
Environmental Complexity ◽  
Welfare Benefits ◽  
Judgement Bias

Abstract Affective state can bias an animal’s judgement. Animals in positive affective states can interpret ambiguous cues more positively (“optimistically”) than animals in negative affective states. Thus, judgement bias tests can determine an animal’s affective state through their responses to ambiguous cues. We tested the effects of environmental complexity and stocking density on affective states of broiler chickens through a multimodal judgement bias test. Broilers were trained to approach reinforced locations signaled by one color and not to approach unreinforced locations signaled by a different color. Trained birds were tested for latencies to approach three ambiguous cues of intermediate color and location. Broilers discriminated between cues, with shorter latencies to approach ambiguous cues closest to the reinforced cue than cues closest to the unreinforced cue, validating the use of the test in this context. Broilers housed in high-complexity pens approached ambiguous cues faster than birds in low-complexity pens­–an optimistic judgement bias, suggesting the former were in a more positive affective state. Broilers from high-density pens tended to approach all cues faster than birds from low-density pens, possibly because resource competition in their home pen increased food motivation. Overall, our study suggests that environmental complexity improves broilers’ affective states, implying animal welfare benefits of environmental enrichment.

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