Cognitive load during planned and unplanned virtual shopping:Evidence from a neurophysiological perspective

Rapid adoption of virtual-reality-assisted retail applications is inadvertently reshaping consumer buying patterns, making it crucial for businesses to enhance their shopping experience. This new scenario challenges marketers with unique hurdles in both the commercialization of products and in managing information cues derived via VR retailing. Therefore, this study examined consumers’ impulsive behavior and unplanned purchases in a virtual retail store, using self-reports and electroencephalography. Borrowing assorted perspectives from retailing, virtual reality, and neuromarketing literature, we extended the stimulus-organism-response framework to evaluate how unplanned behavior evolves through conscious and unconscious measures. We found that consumers’ impulsiveness was significantly associated with their unplanned expenditure and the number of unplanned purchases. Using mediation analysis, we observed that flow experience during shopping partially mediated the relationship between the sense of presence and the desire to stay longer in a virtual shopping store. Desire to stay in the virtual store positively influenced store satisfaction, basket-size deviation, and budget deviation. Additionally, cognitive workload obtained via electroencephalogram revealed significant differences during both planned and unplanned purchases. These findings provide fresh opportunities for retailers to leverage the disruptive potential of immersive and interactive virtual technology to transform consumer shopping experiences

A Biosymtic (Biosymbiotic Robotic) Approach to Human Development and Evolution. The Echo of the Universe.

In the present work we demonstrate that the current Child-Computer Interaction paradigm is not potentiating human development to its fullest – it is associated with several physical and mental health problems and appears not to be maximizing children’s cognitive performance and cognitive development. In order to potentiate children’s physical and mental health (including cognitive performance and cognitive development) we have developed a new approach to human development and evolution. This approach proposes a particular synergy between the developing human body, computing machines and natural environments. It emphasizes that children should be encouraged to interact with challenging physical environments offering multiple possibilities for sensory stimulation and increasing physical and mental stress to the organism. We created and tested a new set of computing devices in order to operationalize our approach – Biosymtic (Biosymbiotic Robotic) devices: “Albert” and “Cratus”. In two initial studies we were able to observe that the main goal of our approach is being achieved. We observed that, interaction with the Biosymtic device “Albert”, in a natural environment, managed to trigger a different neurophysiological response (increases in sustained attention levels) and tended to optimize episodic memory performance in children, compared to interaction with a sedentary screen-based computing device, in an artificially controlled environment (indoors) - thus a promising solution to promote cognitive performance/development; and that interaction with the Biosymtic device “Cratus”, in a natural environment, instilled vigorous physical activity levels in children - thus a promising solution to promote physical and mental health

Modelling human emotions using immersive virtual reality, physiological signals and behavioural responses

Tesis por compendio[ES] El uso de la realidad virtual (RV) se ha incrementado notablemente en la comunidad científica para la investigación del comportamiento humano. En particular, la RV inmersiva ha crecido debido a la democratización de las gafas de realidad virtual o head mounted displays (HMD), que ofrecen un alto rendimiento con una inversión económica. Uno de los campos que ha emergido con fuerza en la última década es el Affective Computing, que combina psicofisiología, informática, ingeniería biomédica e inteligencia artificial, desarrollando sistemas que puedan reconocer emociones automáticamente. Su progreso es especialmente importante en el campo de la investigación del comportamiento humano, debido al papel fundamental que las emociones juegan en muchos procesos psicológicos como la percepción, la toma de decisiones, la creatividad, la memoria y la interacción social. Muchos estudios se han centrado en intentar obtener una metodología fiable para evocar y automáticamente identificar estados emocionales, usando medidas fisiológicas objetivas y métodos de aprendizaje automático. Sin embargo, la mayoría de los estudios previos utilizan imágenes, audios o vídeos para generar los estados emocionales y, hasta donde llega nuestro conocimiento, ninguno de ellos ha desarrollado un sistema de reconocimiento emocional usando RV inmersiva. Aunque algunos trabajos anteriores sí analizan las respuestas fisiológicas en RV inmersivas, estos no presentan modelos de aprendizaje automático para procesamiento y clasificación automática de bioseñales. Además, un concepto crucial cuando se usa la RV en investigación del comportamiento humano es la validez: la capacidad de evocar respuestas similares en un entorno virtual a las evocadas por el espacio físico. Aunque algunos estudios previos han usado dimensiones psicológicas y cognitivas para comparar respuestas entre entornos reales y virtuales, las investigaciones que analizan respuestas fisiológicas o comportamentales están mucho menos extendidas. Según nuestros conocimientos, este es el primer trabajo que compara entornos físicos con su réplica en RV, empleando respuestas fisiológicas y algoritmos de aprendizaje automático y analizando la capacidad de la RV de transferir y extrapolar las conclusiones obtenidas al entorno real que se está simulando. El objetivo principal de la tesis es validar el uso de la RV inmersiva como una herramienta de estimulación emocional usando respuestas psicofisiológicas y comportamentales en combinación con algoritmos de aprendizaje automático, así como realizar una comparación directa entre un entorno real y virtual. Para ello, se ha desarrollado un protocolo experimental que incluye entornos emocionales 360º, un museo real y una virtualización 3D altamente realista del mismo museo. La tesis presenta novedosas contribuciones del uso de la RV inmersiva en la investigación del comportamiento humano, en particular en lo relativo al estudio de las emociones. Esta ayudará a aplicar metodologías a estímulos más realistas para evaluar entornos y situaciones de la vida diaria, superando las actuales limitaciones de la estimulación emocional que clásicamente ha incluido imágenes, audios o vídeos. Además, en ella se analiza la validez de la RV realizando una comparación directa usando una simulación altamente realista. Creemos que la RV inmersiva va a revolucionar los métodos de estimulación emocional en entornos de laboratorio. Además, su sinergia junto a las medidas fisiológicas y las técnicas de aprendizaje automático, impactarán transversalmente en muchas áreas de investigación como la arquitectura, la salud, la evaluación psicológica, el entrenamiento, la educación, la conducción o el marketing, abriendo un nuevo horizonte de oportunidades para la comunidad científica. La presente tesis espera contribuir a caminar en esa senda.[EN] In recent years the scientific community has significantly increased its use of virtual reality (VR) technologies in human behaviour research. In particular, the use of immersive VR has grown due to the introduction of affordable, high performance head mounted displays (HMDs). Among the fields that has strongly emerged in the last decade is affective computing, which combines psychophysiology, computer science, biomedical engineering and artificial intelligence in the development of systems that can automatically recognize emotions. The progress of affective computing is especially important in human behaviour research due to the central role that emotions play in many background processes, such as perception, decision-making, creativity, memory and social interaction. Several studies have tried to develop a reliable methodology to evoke and automatically identify emotional states using objective physiological measures and machine learning methods. However, the majority of previous studies used images, audio or video to elicit emotional statements; to the best of our knowledge, no previous research has developed an emotion recognition system using immersive VR. Although some previous studies analysed physiological responses in immersive VR, they did not use machine learning techniques for biosignal processing and classification. Moreover, a crucial concept when using VR for human behaviour research is validity: the capacity to evoke a response from the user in a simulated environment similar to the response that might be evoked in a physical environment. Although some previous studies have used psychological and cognitive dimensions to compare responses in real and virtual environments, few have extended this research to analyse physiological or behavioural responses. Moreover, to our knowledge, this is the first study to compare VR scenarios with their real-world equivalents using physiological measures coupled with machine learning algorithms, and to analyse the ability of VR to transfer and extrapolate insights obtained from VR environments to real environments. The main objective of this thesis is, using psycho-physiological and behavioural responses in combination with machine learning methods, and by performing a direct comparison between a real and virtual environment, to validate immersive VR as an emotion elicitation tool. To do so we develop an experimental protocol involving emotional 360º environments, an art exhibition in a real museum, and a highly-realistic 3D virtualization of the same art exhibition. This thesis provides novel contributions to the use of immersive VR in human behaviour research, particularly in relation to emotions. VR can help in the application of methodologies designed to present more realistic stimuli in the assessment of daily-life environments and situations, thus overcoming the current limitations of affective elicitation, which classically uses images, audio and video. Moreover, it analyses the validity of VR by performing a direct comparison using highly-realistic simulation. We believe that immersive VR will revolutionize laboratory-based emotion elicitation methods. Moreover, its synergy with physiological measurement and machine learning techniques will impact transversely in many other research areas, such as architecture, health, assessment, training, education, driving and marketing, and thus open new opportunities for the scientific community. The present dissertation aims to contribute to this progress.[CA] L'ús de la realitat virtual (RV) s'ha incrementat notablement en la comunitat científica per a la recerca del comportament humà. En particular, la RV immersiva ha crescut a causa de la democratització de les ulleres de realitat virtual o head mounted displays (HMD), que ofereixen un alt rendiment amb una reduïda inversió econòmica. Un dels camps que ha emergit amb força en l'última dècada és el Affective Computing, que combina psicofisiologia, informàtica, enginyeria biomèdica i intel·ligència artificial, desenvolupant sistemes que puguen reconéixer emocions automàticament. El seu progrés és especialment important en el camp de la recerca del comportament humà, a causa del paper fonamental que les emocions juguen en molts processos psicològics com la percepció, la presa de decisions, la creativitat, la memòria i la interacció social. Molts estudis s'han centrat en intentar obtenir una metodologia fiable per a evocar i automàticament identificar estats emocionals, utilitzant mesures fisiològiques objectives i mètodes d'aprenentatge automàtic. No obstant això, la major part dels estudis previs utilitzen imatges, àudios o vídeos per a generar els estats emocionals i, fins on arriba el nostre coneixement, cap d'ells ha desenvolupat un sistema de reconeixement emocional mitjançant l'ús de la RV immersiva. Encara que alguns treballs anteriors sí que analitzen les respostes fisiològiques en RV immersives, aquests no presenten models d'aprenentatge automàtic per a processament i classificació automàtica de biosenyals. A més, un concepte crucial quan s'utilitza la RV en la recerca del comportament humà és la validesa: la capacitat d'evocar respostes similars en un entorn virtual a les evocades per l'espai físic. Encara que alguns estudis previs han utilitzat dimensions psicològiques i cognitives per a comparar respostes entre entorns reals i virtuals, les recerques que analitzen respostes fisiològiques o comportamentals estan molt menys esteses. Segons els nostres coneixements, aquest és el primer treball que compara entorns físics amb la seua rèplica en RV, emprant respostes fisiològiques i algorismes d'aprenentatge automàtic i analitzant la capacitat de la RV de transferir i extrapolar les conclusions obtingudes a l'entorn real que s'està simulant. L'objectiu principal de la tesi és validar l'ús de la RV immersiva com una eina d'estimulació emocional usant respostes psicofisiològiques i comportamentals en combinació amb algorismes d'aprenentatge automàtic, així com realitzar una comparació directa entre un entorn real i virtual. Per a això, s'ha desenvolupat un protocol experimental que inclou entorns emocionals 360º, un museu real i una virtualització 3D altament realista del mateix museu. La tesi presenta noves contribucions de l'ús de la RV immersiva en la recerca del comportament humà, en particular quant a l'estudi de les emocions. Aquesta ajudarà a aplicar metodologies a estímuls més realistes per a avaluar entorns i situacions de la vida diària, superant les actuals limitacions de l'estimulació emocional que clàssicament ha inclòs imatges, àudios o vídeos. A més, en ella s'analitza la validesa de la RV realitzant una comparació directa usant una simulació altament realista. Creiem que la RV immersiva revolucionarà els mètodes d'estimulació emocional en entorns de laboratori. A més, la seua sinergia al costat de les mesures fisiològiques i les tècniques d'aprenentatge automàtic, impactaran transversalment en moltes àrees de recerca com l'arquitectura, la salut, l'avaluació psicològica, l'entrenament, l'educació, la conducció o el màrqueting, obrint un nou horitzó d'oportunitats per a la comunitat científica. La present tesi espera contribuir a caminar en aquesta senda.Marín Morales, J. (2020). Modelling human emotions using immersive virtual reality, physiological signals and behavioural responses [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/148717TESISCompendi

Forefront users\u2019 experience evaluation by employing together virtual reality and electroencephalography: A case study on cognitive effects of scents

Scents have the ability to affect peoples\u2019 mental states and task performance with to different extents. It has been widely demonstrated that the lemon scent, included in most all-purpose cleaners, elicits stimulation and activation, while the lavender scent elicits relaxation and sedative effects. The present study aimed at investigating and fostering a novel approach to evaluate users\u2019 experience with respect to scents\u2019 effects through the joint employment of Virtual Reality and users\u2019 neurophysiological monitoring, in particular Electroencephalography. In particular, this study, involving 42 participants, aimed to compare the effects of lemon and lavender scents on the deployment of cognitive resources during a daily life experience consisting in a train journey carried out in virtual reality. Our findings showed a significant higher request of cognitive resources during the processing of an informative message for subjects exposed to the lavender scent with respect to the lemon exposure. No differences were found between lemon and lavender conditions on the self\u2010reported items of pleasantness and involvement; as this study demonstrated, the employment of the lavender scent preserves the quality of the customer experience to the same extent as the more widely used lemon scent

Pass it on: towards a political economy of propensity

The paper argues that the work of Gabriel Tarde on imitation provides a fertile means of understanding how capitalism is forging a new affective technology which conforms to a logic of propensity rather than to means-end reasoning. This it does by drawing together a biological understanding of semiconscious cognition with various practical geometric arts so as to re-stage the world as a series of susceptible situations which can be ridden rather than rigidly controlled. The paper examines the advent of technologies which attend to the variable geometry of so-called animal spirits in the realm of business and then, using Tarde's work as a springboard, considers some alternative means of understanding imitative rays which have less instrumental undertones. The paper is an illustration of the way in which biology and culture have increasingly become intertwined

Body patterning and cognition in cephalopods - a literature review

Cephalopods are a valuable model for studying the evolution of cognition due to their distinctive brain structure, organisation, and connectivity patterns compared to vertebrates. The development of large brains and behavioural complexities are believed to be triggered by evolutionary pressures stemming from factors like heightened predation, more demanding foraging conditions, and intense mating competition. While the differences between corvid and mammals are less pronounced, the cephalopod brain is closer to the vertebrate brain in terms of encephalisation of ganglionic masses observed by nerve cell clusters. The cerebral ganglion in cephalopods is similar to the vertebrate forebrain and midbrain, while the vertical lobe is similar to the vertebrate cerebral cortex and hippocampus formation, which are involved in learning and memory. These brain regions function in a hierarchical system and are intimately connected with their eyes and optic lobes where visual inputs are processed, motor commands are transmitted to the lower motor centre. Chromatophores are skin elements and the physiological control of body patterning and are visually driven and light sensitive. This sets cephalopods apart from their molluscan families such as gastropods and bivalves. Recent studies have revealed that the opsins present in the skin are like those occurring in the retina. This infers that the connection between visual processing and body patterns is not exclusively innate. Expanding on Macphail's Null Hypothesis which posits no significant qualitative or quantitative differences in intelligence across vertebrates, this study seeks to explore the link between body patterning and cognitive abilities across cephalopod species. By comparing patterns of similarities and differences in cognitive abilities, this study aims to investigate whether body patterning can serve as an indicator of cognitive capacity. In conclusion, the study finds the presence of interindividual variations within species and disparities across different species in both body patterning and cognitive abilities. There are associations between cognitive capacity and body patterns. However, establishing a direct and conclusive connection between high-level cognitive abilities and the expression of body patterns remains elusive, as concrete evidence supporting such a relationship is lacking.Cephalopoda utgör en värdefull modell för att studera den kognitiva evolutionen på grund av deras distinkta hjärnstruktur, organisation och nervernas kontaktmönster jämfört med ryggradsdjur. Utvecklingen av stora hjärnor och komplexa beteenden tros vara resultatet av evolutionär press från faktorer som ökad predation, mer krävande födosökningsförhållanden och intensiv parningskonkurrens. Medan skillnaderna mellan kråkfåglar och däggdjur är mindre uttalade, är bläckfiskhjärnan närmare ryggradsdjurshjärnan när det gäller encefalisering av nervcellkluster. Det cerebrala ganglie hos bläckfiskar liknar ryggradsdjurens främre hjärna och mellanhjärna, medan den vertikala loben liknar ryggradsdjurens hjärnbark och hippocampusformation, som är involverade i inlärning och minne. Dessa hjärnregioner fungerar inom ett hierarkiskt system och är intimt kopplade till deras ögon och optiska lober där visuell information bearbetas och motoriska kommandon överförs till de nedre motoriska centrarna. Kromatoforer är hudstrukturer som fysiologiskt kontrollerar kroppsmönster och är visuellt styrda och ljuskänsliga. Detta skiljer cephalopoder från andra molluskfamiljer som gastropoder och musslor. Studier har nyligenavslöjat att de opsin som finns i huden liknar de som förekommer i näthinnan. Detta antyder att sambandet mellan visuell bearbetning och kroppsmönster inte är uteslutande medfödd. Utöver Macphails nollhypotes, som hävdar att det inte finns några signifikanta kvalitativa eller kvantitativa skillnader i intelligens mellan ryggradsdjur, ämnar denna studie utforska kopplingen mellan kroppsmönster och kognitiva förmågor hos cephalopoda. Genom att jämföra likheter och skillnader i kognitiva förmågor syftar denna studie till att undersöka om kroppsmönster kan fungera som en indikator på kognitiv kapacitet. Resultaten visar på förekomst av variationer mellan individer inom arter och skillnader mellan olika arter både vad gäller kroppsmönster och kognitiva förmågor. Det finns samband mellan kognitiv kapacitet och funktioner samt kroppsmönster. Dock är det fortfarande svårt att fastställa en direkt och definitiv koppling mellan hög kognitiva förmågor och uttrycket av kroppsmönster, eftersom konkret bevis som stöder ett sådant samband saknas

The Cognitive Architecture of Spatial Navigation: Hippocampal and Striatal Contributions

Spatial navigation can serve as a model system in cognitive neuroscience, in which specific neural representations, learning rules, and control strategies can be inferred from the vast experimental literature that exists across many species, including humans. Here, we review this literature, focusing on the contributions of hippocampal and striatal systems, and attempt to outline a minimal cognitive architecture that is consistent with the experimental literature and that synthesizes previous related computational modeling. The resulting architecture includes striatal reinforcement learning based on egocentric representations of sensory states and actions, incidental Hebbian association of sensory information with allocentric state representations in the hippocampus, and arbitration of the outputs of both systems based on confidence/uncertainty in medial prefrontal cortex. We discuss the relationship between this architecture and learning in model-free and model-based systems, episodic memory, imagery, and planning, including some open questions and directions for further experiments

Forefront users’ experience evaluation by employing together virtual reality and electroencephalography: a case study on cognitive effects of scents

Scents have the ability to affect peoples’ mental states and task performance with to different extents. It has been widely demonstrated that the lemon scent, included in most all-purpose cleaners, elicits stimulation and activation, while the lavender scent elicits relaxation and sedative effects. The present study aimed at investigating and fostering a novel approach to evaluate users’ experience with respect to scents’ effects through the joint employment of Virtual Reality and users’ neurophysiological monitoring, in particular Electroencephalography. In particular, this study, involving 42 participants, aimed to compare the effects of lemon and lavender scents on the deployment of cognitive resources during a daily life experience consisting in a train journey carried out in virtual reality. Our findings showed a significant higher request of cognitive resources during the processing of an informative message for subjects exposed to the lavender scent with respect to the lemon exposure. No differences were found between lemon and lavender conditions on the self-reported items of pleasantness and involvement; as this study demonstrated, the employment of the lavender scent preserves the quality of the customer experience to the same extent as the more widely used lemon scent

Aerospace Medicine and Biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes (supplement 291)

This bibliography lists 131 reports, articles and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system in November 1986