Computer Mouse Movements as a Scalable Indicator of Work Stress: A Longitudinal Observational Field Study

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolas Banholzer ◽  
Stefan Feuerriegel ◽  
Elgar Fleisch ◽  
Georg Friedrich Bauer ◽  
Tobias Kowatsch
Keyword(s):  
Field Study ◽  
Work Stress ◽  
Computer Mouse ◽  
Mouse Movements

scholarly journals Computer mouse movements as a scalable detector of work stress: A longitudinal observational field study (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolas Banholzer ◽  
Stefan Feuerriegel ◽  
Elgar Fleisch ◽  
Georg Friedrich Bauer ◽  
Tobias Kowatsch
Keyword(s):  
Field Study ◽  
Work Stress ◽  
Acute Stress ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Bayesian Regression ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Computer Mouse ◽  
Mouse Movements ◽  
Speed Accuracy ◽  
Accuracy Tradeoff

BACKGROUND Work stress afflicts individual health and well-being. These negative effects could be mitigated through regular monitoring of employees’ stress. Such monitoring becomes even more important as the digital transformation of the economy implies profound changes of working conditions. OBJECTIVE To investigate whether the computer mouse can be used for continuous monitoring and early detection of work stress in the field. METHODS We hypothesized that stress is associated with a speed-accuracy tradeoff in computer mouse movements (CMMs). To test this hypothesis, we conducted a longitudinal field study at a large business organization, where CMMs from regular work activities were monitored over seven weeks (70 subjects, n=1,829 observations). A Bayesian regression model was used to estimate whether self-reported acute work stress was associated with a speed-accuracy tradeoff in CMMs. RESULTS There was a negative association between stress and the two-way interaction term of mouse speed and accuracy (mean = −0.36, lower = −0.66, upper = −0.08), which means that stress was associated with a speed-accuracy tradeoff. The estimated effect was not sensitive to different processing of the data and remained negative after controlling for the demographics, health, and personality traits of subjects. CONCLUSIONS Self-reported acute stress can be inferred from CMMs, specifically in the form of a speed-accuracy tradeoff. This finding suggests to use regular analysis of CMMs for the early and scalable detection of work stress on the job and thus promises more timely and effective stress management.

scholarly journals Computer mouse movements as an indicator of work stress: A longitudinal observational field study (Preprint)

10.2196/27121 ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolas Banholzer ◽  
Stefan Feuerriegel ◽  
Elgar Fleisch ◽  
Georg Friedrich Bauer ◽  
Tobias Kowatsch
Keyword(s):  
Field Study ◽  
Work Stress ◽  
Computer Mouse ◽  
Mouse Movements

scholarly journals Reversing the Manual Digit Bias in Two-Digit Number Comparison

2017 ◽  
Vol 64 (3) ◽  
pp. 191-204 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas J. Faulkenberry ◽  
Alexander Cruise ◽  
Samuel Shaki
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Cognition ◽  
Number Line ◽  
Number Representation ◽  
Digit Number ◽  
Computer Mouse ◽  
Number Comparison ◽  
Number Representations ◽  
Mouse Movements ◽  
Embodied Representation ◽  
Fixed Standard

Abstract. Though recent work in numerical cognition has supported a strong tie between numerical and spatial representations (e.g., a mental number line), less is known about such ties in multi-digit number representations. Along this line, Bloechle, Huber, and Moeller (2015) found that pointing positions in two-digit number comparison were biased leftward toward the decade digit. Moreover, this bias was reduced in unit-decade incompatible pairs. In the present study, we tracked computer mouse movements as participants compared two-digit numbers to a fixed standard (55). Similar to Bloechle et al. (2015) , we found that trajectories exhibited a leftward bias that was reduced for unit-decade incompatible comparisons. However, when positions of response labels were reversed, the biases reversed. That is, we found a rightward bias for compatible pairs that was reduced for incompatible pairs. This result calls into question a purely embodied representation of place value structure and instead supports a competition model of two-digit number representation.

East is not right: Spatial compatibility differs between egocentric and cardinal retrieval

2018 ◽  
Vol 72 (5) ◽  
pp. 1250-1279 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qi Wang ◽  
Holly A Taylor ◽  
Tad T Brunyé
Keyword(s):  
Compatibility Effect ◽  
Spatial Information ◽  
Temporal Dynamics ◽  
Spatial Knowledge ◽  
Spatial Compatibility ◽  
Real Environment ◽  
Mouse Cursor ◽  
Computer Mouse ◽  
Mouse Movements

Four experiments examined perceptuo-motor associations involved in spatial knowledge encoding and retrieval. Participants learned spatial information by studying a map or by navigating through a real environment and then verified spatial descriptions based on either egocentric or cardinal directional terms. Participants moved the computer mouse to a YES or NO button to verify each statement. We tracked mouse cursor trajectories to examine perceptuo-motor associations in spatial knowledge. An encoding hypothesis predicts that perceptuo-motor associations depend on the involvement of perceptions and actions during encoding, regardless of how spatial knowledge would be used. The retrieval hypothesis predicts that perceptuo-motor associations change as a function of retrieval demands, regardless of how they are learned. The results supported the retrieval hypothesis. Participants showed action compatibility effects with egocentric retrieval, regardless of how spatial information was learned. With well-developed spatial knowledge, a reliable compatibility effect emerged during egocentric retrieval, but no or limited compatibility effects emerged with cardinal retrieval. With less-developed knowledge, the compatibility effects evident during cardinal retrieval suggest a process of egocentric recoding. Other factors of environment learning, such as location proximity and orientation changes, also impacted the compatibility effect, as revealed in the temporal dynamics of mouse movements. Taken together, the results demonstrate that retrieval demands differentially rely upon perceptuo-motor associations in long-term spatial knowledge. This effect is also modulated by environment experience, proximity of learned locations, and experienced orientations.

Is Action Execution Part of the Decision-Making Process? An Investigation of the Embodied Choice Hypothesis

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Balazs Aczel ◽  
Aba Szollosi ◽  
Bence Palfi ◽  
Szaszi Barnabas ◽  
Pascal J. Kieslich
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Movement Direction ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Action Execution ◽  
Mouse Cursor ◽  
Computer Mouse ◽  
Two Factors ◽  
Mouse Movements ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Inherent Part

In this study, we aimed to explore whether action execution is an inherent part of the decision-making process. According to the hypothesis of embodied choice, the decision-making process is bidirectional as action dynamics exert their backward influence on decision processes through changing the cost and value of the potential options. This influence takes place as moving toward one option increases the commitment to and, therefore, the likelihood of choosing that option. This commitment effect can be the result of either (a) the continuous act of getting closer to this option or (b) the increased movement cost associated with changing the movement direction to select a different option. To disentangle the potential influence of these two factors, we developed the Guided Movement Task, a choice task designed to bias participant’s computer-mouse movements by constraining the allowed movement space by a corridor. Using this task, we created different conditions in which the participants’ mouse cursor, after being guided toward one of the options, either had equal or unequal distances to the choice options. By this manipulation, we could test whether the continuous act of getting closer to an option in itself is sufficient to influence people’s decisions—a claim of “strong embodiment.” In two experiments, we found that the likelihood of choosing an option only increased when the distances between the two options were unequal after the initial movement but not when they were equal. These results disagree with the hypothesis that action execution is an inherent part of the decision-making process.

The effect of a feedback signal in a computer mouse on hovering behaviour, productivity, comfort and usability in a field study

Ergonomics ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 140-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heleen De Kraker ◽  
Elsbeth M. De Korte ◽  
Ferry L. K. Van Mil ◽  
Bartjan P. Rijs ◽  
Paulien M. Bongers
Keyword(s):  
Field Study ◽  
Feedback Signal ◽  
Computer Mouse

scholarly journals Reversing the manual digit bias in two-digit number comparison

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas J. Faulkenberry
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Cognition ◽  
Number Line ◽  
Number Representation ◽  
Digit Number ◽  
Computer Mouse ◽  
Number Comparison ◽  
Number Representations ◽  
Mouse Movements ◽  
Embodied Representation ◽  
Fixed Standard

Though recent work in numerical cognition has supported the embodiment of number representations (e.g., a mental number line), little is known about the embodiment of multi-digit number representations. Along this line, Bloechle, Huber, and Moeller (2015) found that pointing positions in two-digit number comparison were biased leftward toward the decade digit. Moreover, this bias was reduced in unit-decade incompatible pairs. In the present study, we tracked computer mouse movements as participants compared two-digit numbers to a fixed standard (55). Similar to Bloechle et al. (2015), we found that trajectories exhibited a leftward bias that was reduced for unit-decade incompatible comparisons. However, when positions of response labels were reversed, the biases reversed. That is, we found a rightward bias for compatible pairs that was reduced for incompatible pairs. This result calls into question a purely embodied representation of place value structure and instead supports a competition model of two-digit number representation.

scholarly journals Computer-Mouse Tracking Reveals TMS Disruptions of Prefrontal Function During Semantic Retrieval

2009 ◽  
Vol 102 (6) ◽  
pp. 3405-3413 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas C. Hindy ◽  
Roy Hamilton ◽  
Andrea S. Houghtling ◽  
H. Branch Coslett ◽  
Sharon L. Thompson-Schill
Keyword(s):  
Process Models ◽  
Semantic Retrieval ◽  
Mouse Tracking ◽  
Cortical Function ◽  
Movement Trajectories ◽  
Prefrontal Function ◽  
Computer Mouse ◽  
Semantic Competition ◽  
Computer Mouse Tracking ◽  
Mouse Movements

Converging evidence from neuroimaging and neuropsychological studies is essential for understanding human frontal cortical function. We introduce a new method for studying the effects of transient disruptions of frontal activity during transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). Using a novel combination of TMS and computer-mouse tracking, through two experiments we tested process models of semantic competition in left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC). On TMS stimulation of left mid-VLPFC just after presentation of an ambiguous stimulus, participants' mouse-movement trajectories deviated more toward the incorrect target for weak associate trials than for any other trial type. This effect was extinguished when participants were simultaneously shown both target and cue stimuli. Results suggest that left mid-VLPFC is necessary to resolve semantic competition when a response is underdetermined by the stimulus and the interpretive context of the stimulus is ambiguous. Computer-mouse movements reveal the dynamics of competitive interactions as they resolve, making this technique ideally suited for studying cognitive control processes and a more sensitive index of TMS disruption than reaction time and accuracy alone.

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