From the Inside Out: A Literature Review on Possibilities of Mobile Emotion Measurement and Recognition

Information systems are becoming increasingly intelligent and emotion artificial intelligence is an important component for the future. Therefore, the measurement and recognition of emotions is necessary and crucial. This paper presents a state of the art in the research field of mobile emotion measurement and recognition. The aim of this structured literature analysis using the PRISMA statement is to collect and classify the relevant literature and to provide an overview of the current status of mobile emotion recording and its future trends. A total of 59 articles were identified in the relevant literature databases, which can be divided into four main categories of emotion measurement. There was an increase of publications over the years in all four categories, but with a particularly strong increase in the areas of optical and vital-data-based recording. Over time, both the speed as well as the accuracy of the measurement has improved considerably in all four categories

Insights from mechanistic and digital intervention approaches

Eine effektive Förderung des Sozialverhaltens autistischer Kinder erfordert ein tiefgehendes Verständnis der Ursachen maladaptiver Reaktionen und die Bereitstellung eines leicht verfügbaren Förderangebots. Hier haben digitale Angebote ein großes Potential. Ebenso wie bei der Ursachenforschung mangelt es jedoch an Forschungsansätzen, welche eine Vielzahl an kognitiven und emotionalen Prozessen in die digitale Förderung integrieren. Dementsprechend untersuchte die Dissertation zunächst das Zusammenspiel verschiedener Ursachen aggressives Sozialverhaltens anhand eines etablierten Modells der sozial-kognitiven Informationsverarbeitung. Durch die Integration verschiedener Facetten der Empathie und deren zugrundeliegende Kompetenzen in ein digitales Förderangebot sollte im zweiten Schritt eine Verbesserung des Sozialverhaltens autistischer Grundschüler:innen erreicht werden. Es zeigte sich, dass Emotionsdysregulation verschiedene Formen aggressiven Sozialverhaltens und damit assoziierte feindselige Attributionen verstärkt. Letztere stand vor allem mit verbalen und verdeckten Aggressionsformen sowie mit guten Emotionserkennungsfertigkeiten im Zusammenhang. Eine Verbesserung des Sozialverhaltens und der Emotionsregulation konnte mittelfristig durch das sechswöchige, eltern-begleitete eLearningprogramm „Zirkus Empathico“ erreicht werden. Die multizentrische, randomisiert kontrollierte Studie ergab zudem kurzfristige und moderate Interventionseffekte für Empathie und Emotionserkennung als primäre Endpunkte. Insgesamt unterstreicht die Dissertation die Validität etablierter Modelle der sozialen Informationsverarbeitung sowie die Relevanz, diese zukünftigen Forschungs- und Interventionsansätzen zugrunde zu legen. Durch die Integration verschiedener sozio-emotionaler Kompetenzen scheint die digitale Intervention Zirkus Empathico prosoziales Verhalten autistischer Kinder auf effektive und praktikable Weise zu fördern.Effective training of autistic children`s social behavior requires an in-depth understanding of the causes of maladaptive responses and the provision of easily accessible support services. In this context, digital interventions have great potential. However, there is a lack of research approaches that integrate a variety of cognitive and emotional processes into both, explanation and digital support. The present dissertation first examined the interplay of different causes of aggressive social behavior by applying an established model of social-cognitive information processing to a sample of autistic elementary school students. Second, by integrating different facets of empathy and their underlying competencies into a digital program, the social behavior of autistic elementary school children should be improved. First, it was shown that emotion dysregulation strengthens various forms of aggressive social behavior and associated hostile attribution biases. The latter was mainly related to verbal and covert forms of aggression and good emotion recognition skills. Second, the parent-assisted eLearning program "Zirkus Empathico" led to a medium-term improvement in social behavior and emotion regulation after a six-week training. In addition, the multicenter randomized controlled trial showed moderate intervention effects on empathy and emotion recognition as primary outcomes, which were no longer detectable three months later. Overall, the dissertation highlights the validity of established models of social information processing and the relevance of using them as a foundation for future research and intervention. By integrating various socio-emotional competencies, the digital intervention Zirkus Empathico seems to strengthen autistic children’s prosocial behavior effectively and feasibly

Data: Fostering Socio-Emotional Competencies in Children with Autism using a Parent-Assisted Serious Game: A Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial

The data set refers to a multicenter randomized controlled trial that was conducted to test the effectiveness of the parent-assisted serious game "Zirkus Empathico" against an active control group. Eighty-two children aged 5-10 years with ASC were assessed at baseline, after six weeks of treatment, and three-month follow-up. Parent-rated empathy (GEM) and emotion recognition skills (KERMIT) were defined as the primary outcomes. The secondary outcomes included measures of distant emotion recognition (EKMAN), emotional awareness (LEAS-C), emotion regulation (ERC ER; N/L), autism social symptomatology (SRS parent/teacher rating), and subjective therapy goals (GAS). Data from all randomized participants was used for primary and secondary analyses according to the intention-to-treat principle. The training effects were estimated using path analyses with maximum likelihood estimation and robust ‘Huber-White’ standard errors (MLR). We specified three different path models to test our hypotheses. Please see the provided R scripts for a detailed description of the analyses. All the analyses were conducted using the RStudio software version 1.3.1073 (RStudio Team, 2015)

Data: Fostering Socio-Emotional Competencies in Children with Autism using a Parent-Assisted Serious Game: A Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial

The data set refers to a multicenter randomized controlled trial that was conducted to test the effectiveness of the parent-assisted serious game "Zirkus Empathico" against an active control group. Eighty-two children aged 5-10 years with ASC were assessed at baseline, after six weeks of treatment, and three-month follow-up. Parent-rated empathy (GEM) and emotion recognition skills (KERMIT) were defined as the primary outcomes. The secondary outcomes included measures of distant emotion recognition (EKMAN), emotional awareness (LEAS-C), emotion regulation (ERC ER; N/L), autism social symptomatology (SRS parent/teacher rating), and subjective therapy goals (GAS). Data from all randomized participants was used for primary and secondary analyses according to the intention-to-treat principle. The training effects were estimated using path analyses with maximum likelihood estimation and robust ‘Huber-White’ standard errors (MLR). We specified three different path models to test our hypotheses. Please see the provided R scripts for a detailed description of the analyses. All the analyses were conducted using the RStudio software version 1.3.1073 (RStudio Team, 2015)