The affective connection: how and when users communicate emotion

ABSTRACT

Affective computer systems which recognize human emotions or use emotion in their displays have potential to enhance human-computer interaction (HCI). Wizard-of-Oz (WOZ) methods and experimental design have enabled recording, analysis and comparison of emotional interaction of participants with an apparently 'emotional' machine and a standard 'non-emotional' version. Early results suggest participants use subtle emotional displays during HCI, for example through posture, body movement, sounds and facial expression. Further analysis will confirm if they show more emotion when they believe the system recognises their emotions, or when the system varies its behaviour in response to their emotional expression. This will contribute to HCI knowledge of affective computing by emphasizing the user's perspective, demonstrating the usefulness of WOZ techniques, and raising questions about future directions of affective computing.

REFERENCES

• 1: Nils Dahlbäck , Arne Jönsson , Lars Ahrenberg, Wizard of Oz studies—why and how, Readings in intelligent user interfaces, Morgan Kaufmann Publishers Inc., San Francisco, CA, 1998
• 2: Ekman, P. Facial Expressions, in T Dalgleish and M Power (eds) Handbook of Cognition and Emotion. (Sussex, UK), John Wiley & Sons Ltd: 301--320, 1999.
• 3: Rosalind W. Picard, Affective computing, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 1997
• 4: Bryon Reeves , Clifford Nass, The media equation: how people treat computers, television, and new media like real people and places, Cambridge University Press, New York, NY, 1998
• 5: Patricia Wallace, The Psychology of the Internet, Cambridge University Press, New York, NY, 1999

INDEX TERMS

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

Keywords:
Wizard-of-Oz, affective computing, emotion recognition, human factors, human-computer interaction