scholarly journals Pleasant Stroke Touch on Human Back by a Human and a Robot

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomoki Ishikura ◽  
Yuki Kitamura ◽  
Wataru Sato ◽  
Jun Takamatsu ◽  
Akishige Yuguchi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Skin Conductance Response ◽  
Emotional Responses ◽  
Emotional Reactions ◽  
Facial Electromyography ◽  
Corrugator Supercilii ◽  
Medium Speed ◽  
Human Participants ◽  
Valence And Arousal ◽  
Reduced Activity

Abstract Pleasant touching is an important aspect of social interactions that is widely used as a caregiving technique. To address problems resulting from a lack of available human caregivers, previous research has attempted to develop robots that can perform this kind of pleasant touch. However, it remains unclear whether robots can provide such a pleasant touch in a manner similar to humans. To investigate this issue, we compared the effect of the speed of gentle strokes on the back between human and robot agents on the emotional responses of human participants (n = 28). A robot or a human stroked on the participants’ back at slow and medium speeds (i.e., 2.6 and 8.5 cm/s). Participants’ subjective (valence and arousal ratings) and physiological (facial electromyography (EMG) recorded from the corrugator supercilii and zygomatic major muscles, and skin conductance response) emotional reactions were measured. The subjective ratings demonstrated that the medium speed was more pleasant and arousing than the slow speed for both human and robot strokes. The corrugator supercilii EMG showed that the medium speed resulted in reduced activity in response to both human and robot strokes. These results demonstrate similar speed-dependent modulations of stroke on subjective and physiological positive emotional responses across human and robot agents and suggest that robots can provide a pleasant touch similar to that of humans.

scholarly journals Vocal Synchrony of Robots Boosts Positive Affective Empathy

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 2502
Author(s):  
Shogo Nishimura ◽  
Takuya Nakamura ◽  
Wataru Sato ◽  
Masayuki Kanbara ◽  
Yuichiro Fujimoto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Skin Conductance Level ◽  
Emotional Responses ◽  
Affective Empathy ◽  
Subjective Ratings ◽  
Subjective Responses ◽  
Facial Electromyography ◽  
Corrugator Supercilii ◽  
Human Participants ◽  
Vocal Prosody ◽  
Conductance Level

Robots that can talk with humans play increasingly important roles in society. However, current conversation robots remain unskilled at eliciting empathic feelings in humans. To address this problem, we used a robot that speaks in a voice synchronized with human vocal prosody. We conducted an experiment in which human participants held positive conversations with the robot by reading scenarios under conditions with and without vocal synchronization. We assessed seven subjective responses related to affective empathy (e.g., emotional connection) and measured the physiological emotional responses using facial electromyography from the corrugator supercilii and zygomatic major muscles as well as the skin conductance level. The subjective ratings consistently revealed heightened empathic responses to the robot in the synchronization condition compared with that under the de-synchronizing condition. The physiological signals showed that more positive and stronger emotional arousal responses to the robot with synchronization. These findings suggest that robots that are able to vocally synchronize with humans can elicit empathic emotional responses.

scholarly journals Enhanced emotional and motor responses to live versus videotaped dynamic facial expressions

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chun-Ting Hsu ◽  
Wataru Sato ◽  
Sakiko Yoshikawa
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Facial Expressions ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Emotional Reactions ◽  
Emg Activity ◽  
Subjective Ratings ◽  
Emotional Facial Expressions ◽  
Facial Mimicry ◽  
Corrugator Supercilii ◽  
Dynamic Facial Expressions

Abstract Facial expression is an integral aspect of non-verbal communication of affective information. Earlier psychological studies have reported that the presentation of prerecorded photographs or videos of emotional facial expressions automatically elicits divergent responses, such as emotions and facial mimicry. However, such highly controlled experimental procedures may lack the vividness of real-life social interactions. This study incorporated a live image relay system that delivered models’ real-time performance of positive (smiling) and negative (frowning) dynamic facial expressions or their prerecorded videos to participants. We measured subjective ratings of valence and arousal and facial electromyography (EMG) activity in the zygomaticus major and corrugator supercilii muscles. Subjective ratings showed that the live facial expressions were rated to elicit higher valence and more arousing than the corresponding videos for positive emotion conditions. Facial EMG data showed that compared with the video, live facial expressions more effectively elicited facial muscular activity congruent with the models’ positive facial expressions. The findings indicate that emotional facial expressions in live social interactions are more evocative of emotional reactions and facial mimicry than earlier experimental data have suggested.

Individual emotional reactions towards music: Evolutionary-based universals?

2009 ◽  
Vol 13 (2_suppl) ◽  
pp. 261-287 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oliver Grewe ◽  
Frederik Nagel ◽  
Eckart Altenmüller ◽  
Reinhard Kopiez
Keyword(s):  
Skin Conductance Response ◽  
Emotional Reactions ◽  
Affective Responses ◽  
Response Mechanism ◽  
Subjective Ratings ◽  
Exploratory Approach ◽  
Valence And Arousal ◽  
Physiological Reactions ◽  
Reaction Patterns ◽  
High Diversity

Music can elicit strong feelings and physiological arousal in listeners. However, it is still under debate as to whether these reactions are based on universal reaction patterns or are acquired during a process of individual acculturation. Here we present evidence for the latter hypothesis: Subjective ratings on the axes of valence and arousal as well as physiological measurements of skin conductance response of 38 participants were assessed. Data were recorded continuously over time while participants listened to seven different musical pieces as well as five to ten pieces which they selected individually. Individual reactions showed extreme heterogeneity and revealed no systematic reaction patterns for all participants. In an exploratory approach, reactions of female and male participants were compared in response to singing voices of different registers (basso, tenor, alto, and soprano). The comparison of genders showed no significant differences, either in subjective ratings or in physiological reactions. The data presented here suggests that individual differences in the subjectively felt reactions to music dominate possible universal patterns. We argue that the high diversity in individual affective responses to music suggests a high adaptability of the underlying reaction patterns. This response mechanism might be evolutionarily beneficial due to its potential for social differentiation.

scholarly journals Facial EMG Correlates of Subjective Hedonic Responses During Food Consumption

Nutrients ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 1174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wataru Sato ◽  
Kazusa Minemoto ◽  
Akira Ikegami ◽  
Makoto Nakauma ◽  
Takahiro Funami ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Consumption ◽  
Emg Activity ◽  
Physiological Measures ◽  
Subjective Ratings ◽  
Facial Electromyography ◽  
Facial Emg ◽  
Corrugator Supercilii ◽  
Hedonic Experience ◽  
Valence And Arousal ◽  
Liking Rating

An exploration of physiological correlates of subjective hedonic responses while eating food has practical and theoretical significance. Previous psychophysiological studies have suggested that some physiological measures, including facial electromyography (EMG), may correspond to hedonic responses while viewing food images or drinking liquids. However, whether consuming solid food could produce such subjective–physiological concordance remains untested. To investigate this issue, we assessed participants’ subjective ratings of liking, wanting, valence, and arousal while they consumed gel-type food stimuli of various flavors and textures. We additionally measured their physiological signals, including facial EMG from the corrugator supercilii. The results showed that liking, wanting, and valence ratings were negatively correlated with corrugator supercilii EMG activity. Only the liking rating maintained a negative association with corrugator supercilii activity when the other ratings were partialed out. These data suggest that the subjective hedonic experience, specifically the liking state, during food consumption can be objectively assessed using facial EMG signals and may be influenced by such somatic signals.

scholarly journals Rapid Facial Reactions in Response to Facial Expressions of Emotion Displayed by Real Versus Virtual Faces

i-Perception ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 204166951878652 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leonor Philip ◽  
Jean-Claude Martin ◽  
Céline Clavel
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Facial Expressions ◽  
Physiological Responses ◽  
Facial Electromyography ◽  
Emotional Faces ◽  
Corrugator Supercilii ◽  
Affective Processes ◽  
Dynamic Facial Expressions ◽  
Facial Expressions Of Emotion ◽  
Human Faces

Facial expressions of emotion provide relevant cues for understanding social interactions and the affective processes involved in emotion perception. Virtual human faces are useful for conducting controlled experiments. However, little is known regarding the possible differences between physiological responses elicited by virtual versus real human facial expressions. The aim of the current study was to determine if virtual and real emotional faces elicit the same rapid facial reactions for the perception of facial expressions of joy, anger, and sadness. Facial electromyography (corrugator supercilii, zygomaticus major, and depressor anguli) was recorded in 30 participants during the presentation of dynamic or static and virtual or real faces. For the perception of dynamic facial expressions of joy and anger, analyses of electromyography data revealed that rapid facial reactions were stronger when participants were presented with real faces compared with virtual faces. These results suggest that the processes underlying the perception of virtual versus real emotional faces might differ.

scholarly journals Reading About Us and Them: Moral but no Minimal Group Effects on Language-Induced Emotion

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Björn 't Hart ◽  
Marijn Struiksma ◽  
Anton van Boxtel ◽  
Jos J. A. van Berkum
Keyword(s):  
Muscle Activity ◽  
Emotional Responses ◽  
Full Understanding ◽  
Group Status ◽  
Good Person ◽  
Facial Electromyography ◽  
Minimal Group ◽  
Social Standards ◽  
Corrugator Supercilii ◽  
New Evidence

Many of our everyday emotional responses are triggered by language, and a full understanding of how people use language therefore also requires an analysis of how words elicit emotion as they are heard or read. We report a facial electromyography experiment in which we recorded corrugator supercilii, or “frowning muscle”, activity to assess how readers processed emotion-describing language in moral and minimal in/outgroup contexts. Participants read sentence-initial phrases like “Mark is angry” or “Mark is happy” after descriptions that defined the character at hand as a good person, a bad person, a member of a minimal ingroup, or a member of a minimal outgroup (realizing the latter two by classifying participants as personality “type P” and having them read about characters of “type P” or “type O”). As in our earlier work, moral group status of the character clearly modulated how readers responded to descriptions of character emotions, with more frowning to “Mark is angry” than to “Mark is happy” when the character had previously been described as morally good, but not when the character had been described as morally bad. Minimal group status, however, did not matter to how the critical phrases were processed, with more frowning to “Mark is angry” than to “Mark is happy” across the board. Our morality-based findings are compatible with a model in which readers use their emotion systems to simultaneously simulate a character’s emotion and evaluate that emotion against their own social standards. The minimal-group result does not contradict this model, but also does not provide new evidence for it.

scholarly journals Facial EMG Activity Is Associated with Hedonic Experiences but Not Nutritional Values While Viewing Food Images

Nutrients ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 11
Author(s):  
Wataru Sato ◽  
Sakiko Yoshikawa ◽  
Tohru Fushiki
Keyword(s):  
Nutritional Assessment ◽  
Practical Interest ◽  
Emg Activity ◽  
Skin Potential ◽  
Nutritional Values ◽  
Facial Electromyography ◽  
Facial Emg ◽  
Corrugator Supercilii ◽  
Food Images ◽  
Valence And Arousal

The physiological correlates of hedonic/emotional experiences to visual food stimuli are of theoretical and practical interest. Previous psychophysiological studies have shown that facial electromyography (EMG) signals were related to subjective hedonic ratings in response to food images. However, because other data showed positive correlations between hedonic ratings and objective nutritional values of food, whether the facial EMG reactions to food images could reflect the hedonic evaluation or nutritional assessment of food remains unknown. To address this issue, we measured subjective hedonic ratings (liking, wanting, valence, and arousal) and physiological signals (facial EMG of the corrugator supercilii, zygomatic major, masseter, and suprahyoid muscles, skin potential responses, and heart rates) while participants observed food images that had objective nutritional information (caloric, carbohydrate, fat, and protein contents). The results revealed that zygomatic major EMG activity was positively correlated with ratings of liking, wanting, and valence, but not with any objective nutritional value. These data indicate that facial EMG signals in response to food images reflect subjective hedonic experiences, but not objective nutritional values, associated with the food item.

The Therapist’s Reaction to a Patient’s Suicide

Crisis ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 99-105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Friedrich Martin Wurst ◽  
Isabella Kunz ◽  
Gregory Skipper ◽  
Manfred Wolfersdorf ◽  
Karl H. Beine ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Responses ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Emotional Reaction ◽  
Emotional Reactions ◽  
Analog Scale ◽  
General Hospitals ◽  
Item Questionnaire ◽  
Retrospective Nature ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Over Time

Background: A substantial proportion of therapists experience the loss of a patient to suicide at some point during their professional life. Aims: To assess (1) the impact of a patient’s suicide on therapists distress and well-being over time, (2) which factors contribute to the reaction, and (3) which subgroup might need special interventions in the aftermath of suicide. Methods: A 63-item questionnaire was sent to all 185 Psychiatric Clinics at General Hospitals in Germany. The emotional reaction of therapists to patient’s suicide was measured immediately, after 2 weeks, and after 6 months. Results: Three out of ten therapists suffer from severe distress after a patients’ suicide. The item “overall distress” immediately after the suicide predicts emotional reactions and changes in behavior. The emotional responses immediately after the suicide explained 43.5% of the variance of total distress in a regression analysis. Limitations: The retrospective nature of the study is its primary limitation. Conclusions: Our data suggest that identifying the severely distressed subgroup could be done using a visual analog scale for overall distress. As a consequence, more specific and intensified help could be provided to these professionals.

scholarly journals Effect of congruence between sound and video on heart rate and self-reported measures of emotion

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 621-631
Author(s):  
Sebastián Calderón ◽  
Raúl Rincón ◽  
Andrés Araujo ◽  
Carlos Gantiva
Keyword(s):  
Heart Rate ◽  
Emotional Response ◽  
Emotional Responses ◽  
Subjective Perception ◽  
Video Clips ◽  
Bimodal Stimulus ◽  
Emotional Dimension ◽  
Valence And Arousal

Most studies of emotional responses have used unimodal stimuli (e.g., pictures or sounds) or congruent bimodal stimuli (e.g., video clips with sound), but little is known about the emotional response to incongruent bimodal stimuli. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of congruence between auditory and visual bimodal stimuli on heart rate and self-reported measures of emotional dimension, valence and arousal. Subjects listened to pleasant, neutral, and unpleasant sounds, accompanied by videos with and without content congruence, and heart rate was recorded. Dimensions of valence and arousal of each bimodal stimulus were then self-reported. The results showed that heart rate depends of the valence of the sounds but not of the congruence of the bimodal stimuli. The valence and arousal scores changed depending on the congruence of the bimodal stimuli. These results suggest that the congruence of bimodal stimuli affects the subjective perception of emotion.

scholarly journals The Emotional Nature of Birth Family Relationships for Care-experienced and Adopted Young People: A Longitudinal Perspective

2020 ◽  
pp. 0192513X2097843
Author(s):  
Montserrat Fargas-Malet ◽  
Dominic McSherry
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Family Relationships ◽  
Emotional Responses ◽  
Emotional Reactions ◽  
Dynamic Nature ◽  
Children And Young People ◽  
Adoption Research ◽  
Mixed Feelings ◽  
Birth Family ◽  
Theory Research

Research focused on relationships and contact with birth family for children and young people who were separated from them as infants has rarely acknowledged the emotional and dynamic nature of such interactions. Curiosity has been dominant in adoption research. However, in our longitudinal study of young people who entered care at a young age, a range of other feelings and combination of feelings emerged in the youths’ narratives, including contentment and mixed feelings such as anger, affection, loss, guilt, or worry. Type of placement, that is, whether the young people had been adopted, lived with kinship foster carers or non-relative foster parents, did not determine their emotional reactions to their birth family. The young people’s perspectives and emotions often changed over time. In this article, we describe the young people’s emotional responses to birth family, and highlight implications for theory, research, and practice.

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