scholarly journals Expressing Personalities of Conversational Agents through Visual and Verbal Feedback

Electronics ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (7) ◽  
pp. 794
Author(s):  
Seo-young Lee ◽  
Gyuho Lee ◽  
Soomin Kim ◽  
Joonhwan Lee
Keyword(s):  
Visual Feedback ◽  
Affective Computing ◽  
Functional Abilities ◽  
Conversational Agents ◽  
Verbal Feedback ◽  
Verbal Cues ◽  
Social Abilities ◽  
Fast Motions

As the uses of conversational agents increase, the affective and social abilities of agents become important with their functional abilities. Agents that lack affective abilities could frustrate users during interaction. This study applied personality to implement the natural feedback of conversational agents referring to the concept of affective computing. Two types of feedback were used to express conversational agents’ personality: (1) visual feedback and (2) verbal cues. For visual feedback, participants (N = 45) watched visual feedback with different colors and motions. For verbal cues, participants (N = 60) heard different conditions of agents’ voices with different scripts. The results indicated that the motions of visual feedback were more significant than colors. Fast motions could express distinct and positive personalities. Different verbal cues were perceived as different personalities. The perceptions of personalities differed according to the vocal gender. This study provided design implications for personality expressions applicable to diverse interfaces.

Could a Virtual Human Be Used to Explore Excessive Daytime Sleepiness in Patients?

2014 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 369-376 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierre Philip ◽  
Stéphanie Bioulac ◽  
Alain Sauteraud ◽  
Cyril Chaufton ◽  
Jérôme Olive
Keyword(s):  
Sleep Disorders ◽  
Excessive Daytime Sleepiness ◽  
Daytime Sleepiness ◽  
Affective Computing ◽  
Conversational Agents ◽  
Sleep Complaints ◽  
Daily Life Activities ◽  
Human Interactions ◽  
Falling Asleep ◽  
Excessive Daytime Somnolence

Excessive daytime somnolence (EDS) is defined as the inability to stay awake in daily life activities. Several scales have been used to diagnose excessive daytime sleepiness, the most widely used being the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS). Sleep disorders and EDS are very common in the general population. It is therefore important to be able to screen patients for this symptom in order to obtain an accurate diagnosis of sleep disorders. Embodied Conversational Agents (ECA) have been used in the field of affective computing and human interactions but up to now no software has been specifically designed to investigate sleep disorders. We created an ECA able to conduct an interview based on the ESS and compared it to an interview conducted by a sleep specialist. We recruited 32 consecutive patients and a group of 30 healthy volunteers free of any sleep complaints. The ESS is a self-administered questionnaire that asks the subject to rate (with a pen and paper paradigm) his or her probability of falling asleep. For the purpose of our study, the ECA or real-doctor questionnaire was modified as follows: Instead of the “I” formulate, questions were asked as “Do you.” Our software is based on a common 3D game engine and several commercial software libraries. It can run on standard and affordable hardware products. The sensitivity and specificity of the interview conducted by the ECA were measured. The best results (sensibility and specificity >98%) were obtained to discriminate the sleepiest patients (ESS ≥16) but very good scores (sensibility and specificity >80%) were also obtained for alert subjects (ESS<8). ESS scores obtained in the interview conducted by the physician were significantly correlated with ESS scores obtained in the interview the ECA conducted. Most of the subjects had a positive perception of the virtual physician and considered the interview with the ECA as a good experience. Sixty-five percent of the participants felt that the virtual doctor could significantly help real physicians. Our results show that a virtual physician can conduct a very simple interview to evaluate EDS with very similar results to those obtained by a questionnaire administered by a real physician. The expected massive increase in sleep complaints in the near future likely means that more and more physicians will be looking for computerized systems to help them to diagnose their patients.

scholarly journals Effects of Verbal Feedback on Movement Efficiency During Swimming Ergometry

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 5-9
Author(s):  
Krystyna Zatoń ◽  
Izabela Cześniewicz ◽  
Stefan Szczepan
Keyword(s):  
Heart Rate Recovery ◽  
Work Output ◽  
Verbal Feedback ◽  
Trial Duration ◽  
Verbal Cues ◽  
Dry Land ◽  
Cost Rate ◽  
Physiological Cost ◽  
Butterfly Stroke ◽  
Experimental Group

Abstract Introduction. The aim of the study was to ascertain the physiological effects of verbal feedback on changes in the movement efficiency of a dry-land swimming ergometry task (butterfly stroke). Material and methods. The study involved 100 healthy and physically active males (1st year university students majoring in physical education) that were untrained in swimming (19.56 ± 1.32 years of age, 181.23 ± 4.35 cm in height, and 70.54 ± 8.6 kg in weight). The sample was randomised into two groups (control and experimental). In the first trial, both groups executed the butterfly stroke on a Weba Sport swim ergometer with no augmented feedback. In a second trial, the experimental group was provided with verbal cues relating kinesthetic information on task execution. Trial duration was 10 min, with the first 5 min devoted to the swimming task and the remaining 5 min serving as a cool-down. Variables under consideration included physiological cost, rate of recovery, heart rate recovery, estimated recovery time, and work output. Results. No improvement in the variables related to the physiological cost was observed in the verbal feedback condition although a significant increase in work output was observed in the experimental group (p < 0.05). Conclusions. An improvement in work output without modulating the physiological cost of work suggests that appropriately prepared verbal cues may enhance performance in a swimming ergometry task.

Maternal Teaching Behaviors and Temperament in Preschool Children

1994 ◽  
Vol 78 (2) ◽  
pp. 403-406 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne K. Bomba ◽  
Carla B. Goble ◽  
James D. Moran
Keyword(s):  
Verbal Feedback ◽  
Teaching Behaviors ◽  
Teaching Techniques ◽  
Verbal Cues ◽  
Physical Control ◽  
Behavioral Style ◽  
Parent Child Interactions ◽  
Physical Affection ◽  
Maternal Teaching ◽  
The Relationship

This research investigated the relationship between young children's temperament and maternal teaching techniques in 20 mother-child dyads. Children's temperament was assessed by mothers' reports on the Behavioral Style Questionnaire. Teaching behaviors, as assessed with the Maternal Teaching Observation Technique, were inquiry, directive, negative verbal feedback, modeling, visual cue, physical affection, positive physical control, and negative physical control Correlations were − .55 to − .60 for activity with mothers' use of verbal cues, children's adaptability and mothers' positive and negative verbal feedback, and children's distractability and mothers' modeling. The need for further research on parent-child interactions is noted.

scholarly journals Motor Learning of Complex Tasks with Augmented Feedback: Modality-Dependent Effectiveness

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (23) ◽  
pp. 12495
Author(s):  
Jarosław Jaszczur-Nowicki ◽  
Oscar Romero-Ramos ◽  
Łukasz Rydzik ◽  
Tadeusz Ambroży ◽  
Michał Biegajło ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Motor Learning ◽  
Body Mass ◽  
Visual Feedback ◽  
Vertical Jump ◽  
Body Height ◽  
Verbal Feedback ◽  
Complex Tasks ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Verbal Group ◽  
Post Test

Background: This paper aims to evaluate the effectiveness of feedback modalities in the motor learning of complex tasks. Methods: This study examined sixty-one male university students randomised to three groups: group Verbal (VER) = 20 (body height 178.6 ± 4.3 cm, body mass 81.3 ± 3.7 kg, age 20.3 ± 1.2 years), group Visual (VIS) = 21 (body height 179 ± 4.6 cm, body mass 82 ± 3.4 kg, age 20.3 ± 1.2 years), and group Verbal–Visual (VER&VIS) = 20 (body height 178.6 ± 4.3 cm, body mass 81.3 ± 3.7 kg, age 20.3 ± 1.2 years). The duration of the experiment was 6 months. Training sessions were performed three times per week (on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays). The participants were instructed to perform a vertical jump with an arm swing (with forward and upward motion). During the jump, the participants pulled their knees up to their chests and grabbed their lower legs. The jump was completed with a half-squat landing, with arms positioned sideward. The jumping performance was rated by three gymnastic judges on a scale from 1 to 10. Results: A Tukey post hoc test revealed that in the post-test, a significant difference in the quality of performance was found between the Verbal group concerning errors combined with visual feedback on how to correct them (VER&VIS), the Verbal group concerning errors (VER), and the Visual group with visual feedback on the correctness of task performance (VIS). The ratings observed in the post-test were significantly higher in group VER&VIS than in groups VER and VIS (9%; p < 0.01 and 15%; p < 0.001, respectively). All judges’ ratings observed in group VER&VIS and VIS decreased insignificantly, but in group VER the ratings improved insignificantly. Conclusion: Providing verbal feedback combined with visual feedback on how to correct errors made in performing vertical jumps proved more effective than the provision of verbal feedback only or visual feedback only.

scholarly journals The Potential of Affective Computing in E-Learning

2010 ◽  
pp. 260-274
Author(s):  
Fabrizia Mantovani ◽  
Linda Confalonieri ◽  
Marcello Mortillaro ◽  
Olivia Realdon ◽  
Valentino Zurloni ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Affective Computing ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Automatic Recognition ◽  
Technology Enhanced Learning ◽  
Conversational Agents ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Complex Process ◽  
E Learning ◽  
Funded Project ◽  
Enhanced Learning

The main goal of this chapter is to discuss the potential of affective computing for improving the e-learning experience, both from a theoretical and a practical perspective. First, we focus on the important role emotions play in the (e-)learning process and on the rationale to include affect in e-learning design . Second, we briefly present three trends in the affective computing domain which represent the core features of the EU-funded project on technology-enhanced learning “Myself”: the use of affective Embodied Conversational Agents as virtual tutors; the possibility of automatic recognition of - and adaptation to- the emotional and motivational state of the learner; the use of 3D simulations for web-based training of emotional competence. Finally, focusing on the feature of automatic recognition and adaptation, we present an account of the approach developed within the project and use it as a framework for discussing the main benefits and current limitations to the complex process of integration of affective computing features into e-learning systems.

Surprise and human-agent interactions

2015 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 461-477 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chloé Clavel
Keyword(s):  
Speech Processing ◽  
Affective Computing ◽  
Computational Models ◽  
Conversational Agents ◽  
Agent Interactions ◽  
Human Agent ◽  
Agent Interaction ◽  
Emotional Component ◽  
Emotional Behaviour ◽  
The One

Affective Computing aims at improving the naturalness of human-computer interactions by integrating the socio-emotional component in the interaction. The use of embodied conversational agents (ECAs) – virtual characters interacting with humans – is a key answer to this issue. On the one hand, the ECA has to take into account the human emotional behaviours and social attitudes. On the other hand, the ECA has to display socio-emotional behaviours with relevance. In this paper, we provide an overview of computational methods used for user’s socio-emotional behaviour analysis and of human-agent interaction strategies by questioning the ambivalent status of surprise. We focus on the computational models and on the methods we use to detect user’s emotion through language and speech processing and present a study investigating the role of surprise in the ECA’s answer.

scholarly journals Prefrontal Asymmetry BCI Neurofeedback Datasets

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fred Charles ◽  
Caio De Castro Martins ◽  
Marc Cavazza
Keyword(s):  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Visual Feedback ◽  
Affective Computing ◽  
Near Infrared ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Affective Neuroscience ◽  
Risk Propensity ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy

Prefrontal cortex (PFC) asymmetry is an important marker in affective neuroscience and has attracted significant interest, having been associated with studies of motivation, eating behavior, empathy, risk propensity, and clinical depression. The data presented in this paper are the result of three different experiments using PFC asymmetry neurofeedback (NF) as a Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) paradigm, rather than a therapeutic mechanism aiming at long-term effects, using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) which is known to be particularly well-suited to the study of PFC asymmetry and is less sensitive to artifacts. From an experimental perspective the BCI context brings more emphasis on individual subjects' baselines, successful and sustained activation during epochs, and minimal training. The subject pool is also drawn from the general population, with less bias toward specific behavioral patterns, and no inclusion of any patient data. We accompany our datasets with a detailed description of data formats, experiment and protocol designs, as well as analysis of the individualized metrics for definitions of success scores based on baseline thresholds as well as reference tasks. The work presented in this paper is the result of several experiments in the domain of BCI where participants are interacting with continuous visual feedback following a real-time NF paradigm, arising from our long-standing research in the field of affective computing. We offer the community access to our fNIRS datasets from these experiments. We specifically provide data drawn from our empirical studies in the field of affective interactions with computer-generated narratives as well as interfacing with algorithms, such as heuristic search, which all provide a mechanism to improve the ability of the participants to engage in active BCI due to their realistic visual feedback. Beyond providing details of the methodologies used where participants received real-time NF of left-asymmetric increase in activation in their dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), we re-establish the need for carefully designing protocols to ensure the benefits of NF paradigm in BCI are enhanced by the ability of the real-time visual feedback to adapt to the individual responses of the participants. Individualized feedback is paramount to the success of NF in BCIs.

Differences of verbal feedback between human feedback and an audio-visual feedback device during two-rescuer CPR

Resuscitation ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 85 ◽  
pp. S40
Author(s):  
Christoph Schriefl ◽  
Tanja Muschnig ◽  
Christoph Dibiasi ◽  
Erich Pawelka ◽  
Katharina Skvarc ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Visual Feedback ◽  
Verbal Feedback

scholarly journals Video-based visual feedback to enhance motor learning in physical education—a systematic review

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Moritz Mödinger ◽  
Alexander Woll ◽  
Ingo Wagner
Keyword(s):  
Physical Education ◽  
Motor Learning ◽  
Skill Acquisition ◽  
Visual Feedback ◽  
Digital Literacy ◽  
School Environment ◽  
Quality Criteria ◽  
Daily Practice ◽  
Technical Equipment ◽  
Verbal Feedback

AbstractWhile studies have indicated that visual feedback promotes skill acquisition and motor learning in controlled settings and for various sports, less is known about its feasibility in physical education, which has specific needs and conditions. For this reason, a systematic literature review was conducted regarding video-based visual feedback in physical education. Out of 2030 initially examined studies, 11 matched the selection and quality criteria. The goal was to determine whether visual feedback can be effective regarding motor learning in physical education in primary and secondary schools, and to investigate whether different visual feedback variants (expert modeling and self-modeling), supported by verbal feedback, are more effective than verbal feedback alone. Subsequently, the different conditions (e.g., age, group size, duration) of the included studies were evaluated for their suitability for everyday applications. Video-based visual feedback seems to be effective to enhance motor learning in physical education and seems to be more effective than solely verbal feedback. However, the results show that the specific conditions (class size, scheduled lessons, available time, technical equipment, the digital literacy of teachers, and data protection) of a school environment must be considered before implementing visual video feedback in daily practice.

Clinical Success Using the Audio-Visual Feedback Training for Cluttering

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (6) ◽  
pp. 1589-1594
Author(s):  
Yvonne van Zaalen ◽  
Isabella Reichel
Keyword(s):  
Visual Feedback ◽  
Clinical Success ◽  
Pause Duration ◽  
Digital Audio ◽  
Male Adolescents ◽  
Feedback Training ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Speech Monitoring ◽  
Adolescents And Adults

Purpose Among the best strategies to address inadequate speech monitoring skills and other parameters of communication in people with cluttering (PWC) is the relatively new but very promising auditory–visual feedback (AVF) training ( van Zaalen & Reichel, 2015 ). This study examines the effects of AVF training on articulatory accuracy, pause duration, frequency, and type of disfluencies of PWC, as well as on the emotional and cognitive aspects that may be present in clients with this communication disorder ( Reichel, 2010 ; van Zaalen & Reichel, 2015 ). Methods In this study, 12 male adolescents and adults—6 with phonological and 6 with syntactic cluttering—were provided with weekly AVF training for 12 weeks, with a 3-month follow-up. Data was gathered on baseline (T0), Week 6 (T1), Week 12 (T2), and after follow-up (T3). Spontaneous speech was recorded and analyzed by using digital audio-recording and speech analysis software known as Praat ( Boersma & Weenink, 2017 ). Results The results of this study indicated that PWC demonstrated significant improvements in articulatory rate measurements and in pause duration following the AVF training. In addition, the PWC in the study reported positive effects on their ability to retell a story and to speak in more complete sentences. PWC felt better about formulating their ideas and were more satisfied with their interactions with people around them. Conclusions The AVF training was found to be an effective approach for improving monitoring skills of PWC with both quantitative and qualitative benefits in the behavioral, cognitive, emotional, and social domains of communication.

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