Audiovisual Correlates of Interrogativity: A Comparative Analysis of Catalan and Dutch

Abstract Languages employ different strategies to mark an utterance as a polar (yes-no) question, including syntax, intonation and gestures. This study analyzes the production and perception of information-seeking questions and broad focus statements in Dutch and Catalan. These languages use intonation for marking questionhood, but Dutch also exploits syntactic variation for this purpose. A production task revealed the expected languagespecific auditory differences, but also showed that gaze and eyebrow-raising are used in this distinction. A follow-up perception experiment revealed that perceivers relied greatly on auditory information in determining whether an utterance is a question or a statement, but accuracy was further enhanced when visual information was added. Finally, the study demonstrates that the concentration of several response-mobilizing cues in a sentence is positively correlated with the perceivers' ratings of these utterances as interrogatives

Guess who? An interactive and entertaining game-like platform for investigating human emotions

In this paper, we discuss the design and the development of a highly customizable interactive platform ‘Guess Who’, which was designed as a tool for investigating human emotions in a variety of experimental setups. In its essence, ‘Guess Who?’ is actually a game, which includes typical game elements (winning, loosing, scoring) and can also be played purely for entertainment purposes. The design of the game includes three major elements; 1) experimenter- friendly customizable interface, 2) single player mode-laying against an intelligent computer, 3) two player mode - playing with a remote opponent over the internet via audio video communication channel. Early user evaluations show that Guess Who game is not only a very productive research tool for researchers, where researchers are able to record valuable data in different experimental conditions in a natural way, but also a great source of entertainment for children

A pilot study to assess the usability of a novel psychotherapeutic interactive gaming application as a tool to measure facial emotion recognition in patients with schizophrenia

This work presents the development and the assessment of Feeling Master, a novel psychotherapeutic interactive gaming application that uses cartoon stimuli to measure facial emotion recognition in schizophrenic patients. A pilot study among 24 patients with schizophrenia (PS) and 17 healthy control (HC) subjects was conducted to assess the usability of Feeling Master as a tool to measure facial emotion recognition ability in schizophrenic patients. The usability assessment of the application was based on three criteria: adaptability, effectiveness, and efficiency of the tool (Nielsen, 1994; Schwebel, McClure, & Severson, 2014). The study also attempted to determine whether people with schizophrenia would show emotion recognition deficits and if such deficits would vary among the basic emotions described by Ekman and Friesen (1971). Moreover, our team aimed to relate the results of facial emotion recognition within the schizophrenia group to clinical variables such as the Personal and Situational Attribution Questionnaire (IPSAQ). Descriptive data reveal that Feeling Master is a useful tool for measuring facial emotion recognition in patients with schizophrenia. Schizophrenia patients showed impairments in the emotions recognition. PS subjects remained slower than HC (Average time: F(1.38) = 15.1, p = 0.000). On the other hand, we did not find significant values for the overall emotion discrimination (average accuracy: F(1.38) = 0.733, p>0.05), but we found significant error rates for discrimination in fear: F=(1.38)=8.2, p < 0.007) ) using Fisher¿s exact test to compare errors between PS and HC groups. Using the Feeling Master tool, the performances of patients with schizophrenia were compared to those of healthy control volunteers on computerized tasks of emotion recognition, and the Personal and Situational Attribution Questionnaire (IPSAQ) was administered to determine whether emotion processing deficits were correlated with the attributional style. The correlations between correct response on the Feeling Master and Personal and Situational Attribution Questionnaire (IPSAQ) were not significant, but they showed interesting relations: Sad vs. External Situational Negative, Rho= 0.346, p=0.106; Sad vs. External Situational Positive, Rho=0.320, p=0.136. Finally, the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) was used to study the acceptance among professionals of the Feeling Master as a tool to measure facial emotion recognition in rehabilitation psychiatric units. The TAM study was conducted among 66 experienced mental health professionals. Except for Perceived Ease of Use (PEOU), which has a high value, the other TAM construct values (i.e., Perceived usefulness (PU), Attitude Toward Using (ATU), Enjoyment (E), and Behavioral Intention (BI)) should be improved. In conclusion, the study puts forward the usability of a novel, psychotherapeutic interactive gaming tool used in Facial Emotion Recognition for people with schizophrenia. These findings lend support to the notion that difficulties in emotion recognition are associated with key cognitive deficits among individuals with schizophrenia. These findings were consistent with previous studies.Este trabajo presenta el desarrollo y la evaluación de Feeling Master, un novedoso videojuego psicoterapéutico que utiliza ilustraciones faciales como estímulos para medir el reconocimiento de emociones en pacientes esquizofrénicos. Se realizó un estudio piloto a 24 pacientes con diagnostico de esquizofrenia (PS) y 17 controles voluntarios (HC) para evaluar la usabilidad de Feeling Master como herramienta para la medición del reconocimiento de emociones faciales en pacientes esquizofrénicos. La evaluación de la usabilidad de Feeling Master se baso en tres criterios: la adaptabilidad, la eficacia y la eficiencia de la herramienta (Nielsen, 1994; Schwebel et al., 2014). Conjuntamente, se intentó determinar si las personas enfermas de esquizofrenia muestran déficits en el reconocimiento de las emociones faciales y si tales déficits varían entre las distintas emociones básicas descritas por Ekman y Friesen (1971). Además, se relacionaron los resultados del reconocimiento de emociones faciales del grupo de personas enfermas de esquizofrenia con variables clínicas como el cuestionario de atribuciones internas, personales y situacionales (IPSAQ). Los resultados obtenidos en este estudio revelan que Feeling Master es una herramienta efectiva para la medición del reconocimiento de emociones faciales en personas enfermas de esquizofrenia. Los pacientes con diagnostico de esquizofrenia mostraron un déficit de reconocimiento de las emociones faciales. El grupo PS necesitó mas tiempo que el grupo HC para el reconocimiento de las emociones (tiempo medio: F (1,38) = 15,1, p = 0,000). El estudio no evidenció valores significativos para la discriminación en general de emociones faciales (precisión media: F (1,38) = 0.733, p> 0,05). Por otra parte, se encontró una tasa de error significativo para la discriminación en el miedo: F = (1 , 38) = 8,2, p <0.007)) con la prueba exacta de Fisher para comparar errores entre los grupos PS y HC. Los resultados del reconocimiento de emociones faciales del grupo PS obtenidos con el Feeling Master, se relacionaron con el IPSAQ para determinar si existen correlaciones entre el déficit de reconocimiento de las emociones y el estilo atribucional. Las correlaciones entre los resultados obtenidos por el Feeling Master y el IPSAQ no fueron significativas, pero se encontraron las siguientes relaciones interesantes: tristeza vs. externa situacional negativa, Rho = 0,346, p = 0,106; tristeza vs. externa situacional positiva, Rho = 0,320, p = 0,136. Por último, se utilizo el modelo de aceptación de la tecnología (TAM) para estudiar la adopción de Feeling Master como herramienta para el reconocimiento de emociones faciales en unidades psiquiátricas de rehabilitación. El estudio TAM se realizó a 66 profesionales experimentados de la salud mental. Excepto por la facilidad de uso percibida, que ha obtenido un alto valor, el resto de los constructos del TAM (utilidad percibida , actitud hacia el uso, placer de uso y la intención hacia el uso) deben mejorar sus valores. hacia el uso) deben mejorar sus valores. Como conclusión podemos afirmar que, este trabajo demuestra la correcta usabilidad de Feeling Master como herramienta para la medición del reconocimiento de emociones faciales en personas enfermas de esquizofrenia. Conjuntamente, los resultados de nuestra investigación confirman la existencia de un déficit de reconocimiento de las emociones faciales en las personas enfermas de esquizofrenia. Estos resultados son consistentes con el resto de la literatura científica. de la salud mental. Excepto por la facilidad de uso percibida, que ha obtenido un alto valor, el resto de los constructos del TAM (utilidad percibida , actitud hacia el uso, placer de uso y la intención hacia el uso) deben mejorar sus valores.Postprint (published version