scholarly journals Realistic Motion Avatars are the Future for Social Interaction in Virtual Reality

2022 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shane L. Rogers ◽  
Rebecca Broadbent ◽  
Jemma Brown ◽  
Alan Fraser ◽  
Craig P. Speelman
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Social Interaction ◽  
Motion Capture ◽  
Eye Contact ◽  
Body Motion ◽  
Self Disclosure ◽  
Negative Experiences ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Conversational Partner ◽  
Full Face

This study evaluated participant self-reported appraisal of social interactions with another person in virtual reality (VR) where their conversational partner was represented by a realistic motion avatar. We use the term realistic motion avatar because: 1. The avatar was modelled to look like the conversational partner it represented, and 2. Full face and body motion capture was utilised so that the avatar mimicked the facial and body language of the conversational partner in real-time. We compared social interaction in VR with face-to-face interaction across two communicative contexts: 1. Getting acquainted conversation, and 2. A structured interview where the participant engaged in self-disclosure about positive and negative experiences. Overall, participants largely indicated they preferred face-to-face over VR communication. However, some participants did indicate a preference for VR communication. Additionally, an analysis of post-conversation ratings indicated no significant difference for rated enjoyment, understanding, self-disclosure, comfort, and awkwardness between communication modes. The only ratings where face-to-face was found to be superior was for perceived closeness across both types of communication, and for feeling understood specifically when disclosing negative experiences. Most participants perceived frequent eye contact in both face-to-face and VR interaction, but typically more eye contact when face-to-face. Eye contact was positively associated with rated enjoyment, closeness, and comfort. Overall, our findings suggest that harnessing full face and body motion capture can make social interaction in VR very similar to face-to-face interaction. We anticipate that VR social interaction is poised to become the next major technological evolution for human computer mediated communication and suggest avenues for further research.

Motion captured realistic avatars are the future for social interaction in virtual reality

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shane L. Rogers ◽  
Rebecca Broadbent ◽  
Jemma Brown ◽  
Alan Fraser ◽  
Craig Speelman
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Social Interaction ◽  
Motion Capture ◽  
Eye Contact ◽  
Body Motion ◽  
Self Disclosure ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Conversational Partner ◽  
Full Face

This study evaluated participant self-reported appraisal of social interactions with another person in virtual reality (VR) where their conversational partner was represented by a realistic avatar. We term the avatar as realistic because: 1. It was modelled to look like the person it represented, and 2. Full face and body motion capture was utilised so that the avatar mimicked the facial and body language of the conversational partner in real-time. We compared social interaction in VR with face-to-face interaction across two communicative contexts: 1. Getting acquainted conversation, and 2. A structured interview where the participant engaged in self-disclosure about positive and negative experiences. Overall, participants largely indicated they preferred face-to-face over VR communication. However, some participants did indicate a preference for VR communication, and an analysis of post-conversation ratings indicated no significant difference for rated enjoyment, understanding, self-disclosure, comfort, and awkwardness. The one rating where face-to-face was found to be superior was for perceived closeness. Most participants perceived frequent eye contact in both face-to-face and VR interaction, but typically more eye contact when face-to-face. Eye contact was positively associated with rated enjoyment, closeness, and comfort. Overall, our findings suggest that harnessing full face and body motion capture can make social interaction in VR as very similar to face-to-face interaction. We anticipate that VR social interaction is poised to become the next major technological evolution for human communication and suggest avenues for further research.

EMBARRASSMENT IN DYADIC INTERACTION

1981 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 171-177 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert J. Edelmann ◽  
Sarah E. Hampson
Keyword(s):  
Coping Strategies ◽  
Nonverbal Behavior ◽  
Eye Contact ◽  
Body Motion ◽  
Dyadic Interaction ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Self Disclosure ◽  
Mutual Gaze ◽  
Naturalistic Setting ◽  
Verbal Output

The effect of embarrassment upon dyadic interaction was studied in a semi-naturalistic setting. Subject pairs participated in an alternating question and answer session at one of two interactional distances (1 or 2 in), utilizing questions which increased in their intimacy content. A control group who had only non-intimate questions was also investigated. It was found that topic intimacy, but not interactional distance affected the embarrassment potential of the situation. Increases in embarrassment caused typical changes in nonverbal behavior (decreased eye contact, increased gestural activity, and increased smiling) for both pair members while speaking and listening, and also an increase in speech disturbances. Also, as embarrassment increased mutual gaze decreased, whilst mutual disregard and reciprocated body motion increased; reciprocated looking and reciprocated smiling were not affected. Increases in embarrassment did not affect the amount of self-disclosure for each individual, although verbal output was suppressed relative to the control group. Significant reciprocation of self-disclosure occurred in less than one-third of the interacting pairs. The possibility of evolving coping strategies for embarrassment are discussed in the light of the results.

scholarly journals Robot Gaze Behavior Affects Honesty in Human-Robot Interaction

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elef Schellen ◽  
Francesco Bossi ◽  
Agnieszka Wykowska
Keyword(s):  
Social Interaction ◽  
Eye Contact ◽  
Humanoid Robots ◽  
Human Robot Interaction ◽  
Gaze Behavior ◽  
Robot Interaction ◽  
Facial Cues ◽  
Social Agents ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Deceptive Behavior

As the use of humanoid robots proliferates, an increasing amount of people may find themselves face-to-“face” with a robot in everyday life. Although there is a plethora of information available on facial social cues and how we interpret them in the field of human-human social interaction, we cannot assume that these findings flawlessly transfer to human-robot interaction. Therefore, more research on facial cues in human-robot interaction is required. This study investigated deception in human-robot interaction context, focusing on the effect that eye contact with a robot has on honesty towards this robot. In an iterative task, participants could assist a humanoid robot by providing it with correct information, or potentially secure a reward for themselves by providing it with incorrect information. Results show that participants are increasingly honest after the robot establishes eye contact with them, but only if this is in response to deceptive behavior. Behavior is not influenced by the establishment of eye contact if the participant is actively engaging in honest behavior. These findings support the notion that humanoid robots can be perceived as, and treated like, social agents, since the herein described effect mirrors one present in human-human social interaction.

scholarly journals Robot Gaze Behavior Affects Honesty in Human-Robot Interaction

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elef Schellen ◽  
Francesco Bossi ◽  
Agnieszka Wykowska
Keyword(s):  
Social Interaction ◽  
Eye Contact ◽  
Humanoid Robots ◽  
Human Robot Interaction ◽  
Gaze Behavior ◽  
Robot Interaction ◽  
Facial Cues ◽  
Social Agents ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Deceptive Behavior

As the use of humanoid robots proliferates, an increasing amount of people may find themselves face-to-“face” with a robot in everyday life. Although there is a plethora of information available on facial social cues and how we interpret them in the field of human-human social interaction, we cannot assume that these findings flawlessly transfer to human-robot interaction. Therefore, more research on facial cues in human-robot interaction is required. This study investigated deception in human-robot interaction context, focusing on the effect that eye contact with a robot has on honesty toward this robot. In an iterative task, participants could assist a humanoid robot by providing it with correct information, or potentially secure a reward for themselves by providing it with incorrect information. Results show that participants are increasingly honest after the robot establishes eye contact with them, but only if this is in response to deceptive behavior. Behavior is not influenced by the establishment of eye contact if the participant is actively engaging in honest behavior. These findings support the notion that humanoid robots can be perceived as, and treated like, social agents, since the herein described effect mirrors one present in human-human social interaction.

scholarly journals An Effortful Approach to Social Affiliation in Schizophrenia: Preliminary Evidence of Increased Theta and Alpha Connectivity during a Live Social Interaction

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 1346
Author(s):  
Lilian Y. Li ◽  
Jason Schiffman ◽  
Derek K. Hu ◽  
Beth A. Lopour ◽  
Elizabeth A. Martin
Keyword(s):  
Social Interaction ◽  
Negative Symptoms ◽  
Preliminary Evidence ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Self Disclosure ◽  
Social Affiliation ◽  
Small Talk ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Global Increase ◽  
Eeg Functional Connectivity

People with schizophrenia often experience a profound lack of motivation for social affiliation—a facet of negative symptoms that detrimentally impairs functioning. However, the mechanisms underlying social affiliative deficits remain poorly understood, particularly under realistic social contexts. Here, we investigated subjective reports and electroencephalography (EEG) functional connectivity in schizophrenia during a live social interaction. Individuals with schizophrenia (n = 16) and healthy controls (n = 29) completed a face-to-face interaction with a confederate while having EEG recorded. Participants were randomly assigned to either a Closeness condition designed to elicit feelings of closeness through self-disclosure or a Small-Talk condition with minimal disclosure. Compared to controls, patients reported lower positive emotional experiences and feelings of closeness across conditions, but they showed comparably greater subjective affiliative responses for the Closeness (vs. Small-Talk) condition. Additionally, patients in the Closeness (vs. Small-Talk) condition displayed a global increase in connectivity in theta and alpha frequency bands that was not observed for controls. Importantly, greater theta and alpha connectivity was associated with greater subjective affiliative responding, greater negative symptoms, and lower disorganized symptoms in patients. Collectively, findings indicate that patients, because of pronounced negative symptoms, utilized a less efficient, top-down mediated strategy to process social affiliation.

Face to Face Social Interaction and Inferior Frontal Processing

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy I. Skipper ◽  
Howard C. Nusbaum ◽  
Steven L. Small
Keyword(s):  
Social Interaction ◽  
Face To Face

scholarly journals Eye contact effect: The role of vagal regulation and reactivity, and self-regulation of attention

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alicja Niedźwiecka
Keyword(s):  
Executive Functions ◽  
Cognitive Performance ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Eye Contact ◽  
Autonomic Regulation ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Effective Strategies ◽  
Contact Effect ◽  
The Individual

AbstractEye contact is a crucial aspect of social interactions that may enhance an individual’s cognitive performance (i.e. the eye contact effect) or hinder it (i.e. face-to-face interference effect). In this paper, I focus on the influence of eye contact on cognitive performance in tasks engaging executive functions. I present a hypothesis as to why some individuals benefit from eye contact while others do not. I propose that the relations between eye contact and executive functioning are modulated by an individual’s autonomic regulation and reactivity and self-regulation of attention. In particular, I propose that individuals with more optimal autonomic regulation and reactivity, and more effective self-regulation of attention benefit from eye contact. Individuals who are less well regulated and over- or under-reactive and who do not employ effective strategies of self-regulation of attention may not benefit from eye contact and may perform better when eye contact is absent. I present some studies that justify the proposed hypothesis and point to a method that could be employed to test them. This approach could help to better understand the complex mechanisms underlying the individual differences in participant’s cognitive performance during tasks engaging executive functions.

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