INNER-active journal

ABSTRACT

This purpose of this paper is to present a journal-based system that provides a way for users to reconstruct their emotions around events in their lives, and to see how recall of these events affects their physiology. Expressive writing, a task in which the participant is asked to write about extremely emotional events, is presented as a means towards story construction. Previous use of expressive writing has found profound benefits for both psychological and physical health [8]. In this system, measures of skin conductivity, instantaneous heart rate, and heart stress entropy are used as indicators of activities occurring in the body. Users have the ability to view these signals after taking part in an expressive writing task.

REFERENCES

• 1: Assistive and Adaptive Technology - Aroga Group. Retrieved April 12, 2004 from http://www.aroga.com/learning/
• 2: Dominguez, G. Valderrama, P., Meza, M.A., Perez, S.L., Silva, A., Martinez, G., Mendez, V.M., & Olveray, Y. (1995). The roles of disclosure and emotional reversal in clinical practice. In J.W. Pennebaker (ed.), Emotion, disclosure and health (pp. 255--270). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
• 3: Duncker, K. (1945). On problem solving. Psychological Monographs. 58(5, Whole No. 270).
• 4: Isen, A.M., Daubman, K.A. & Nowicki, G.P. (1987). Positive affect facilitates creative problem solving. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 1122--1131.
• 5: Isen, A.M., Rosenzweig, A.S., & Young, M.J. (1991). The influence of positive affect on clinical problem solving. Medical Decision Making, 11, 221--227.
• 6: Liu, K. (2004). A Personal, Mobile System for Understanding Stress and Interruptions. Masters Thesis: Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
• 7: Mednick, M.T. Mednick, S.A., & Mednick, E.V. (1964). Incubation of creative performance and specific associative priming. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 69, 84--88.
• 8: Pennebaker, J.W. (1997) Opening Up: the Healing Power of expressing emotions. New York: Guilford Press.
• 9: Pennebaker, J.W., Barger, S.D., & Tiebout, J. (1989) Disclosure of traumas and health among Holocaust survivors. Psychosomatic Medicine, 51, 577--589.
• 10: Pennebaker, J.W. & Beall, S.K. (1986). Confronting a traumatic event: Toward an understanding of inhibition and disease. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 95, 274--281.
• 11: Pennebaker, J.W., Hughes, C.F., & O'Heeron, R.C. (1987). The psychophysiology of confession: Linking inhibitory and psychosomatic processes. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 781--793.
• 12: Pert, C., 1997. Molecules of Emotion: Why You Feel the Way You Feel. Simon & Schuster, New York.
• 13: Petrie, K.J., Booth, R., Pennebaker, J.W., Davison, K.P., & Thomas, M. (1995) Disclosure and trauma and immune response to Hepatitis B vaccination program. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 63, 787--792.
• 14: Schwarz, N. Situated Cognition and the Wisdom in Feelings: Cognitive Tuning. In The Wisdom in Feeling: Psychological Processes in Emotional Intelligence. Eds. Salovey, P. Barrett, L.F.
• 15: Sangsue, J. (2000) Emotional Verbalization: Its Effect On Physical Health & Psychological Well-Being In Adolescents. In Ch. Plantin, MR. Doury, & V. Traverso (Eds), The emotions in interactions (CD Rom).
• 16: Today's Stories. (n.d.) Retrieved on April 26, 2004 from http://www.stories.i3net.org

INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.5 INFORMATION INTERFACES AND PRESENTATION (I.7)

General Terms:
Design, Human Factors, Measurement, Performance, Theory, Verification

Keywords:
emotions, expressive writing, physiological signals, story construction