You turn me cold: evidence for temperature contagion

Introduction During social interactions, our own physiological responses influence those of others. Synchronization of physiological (and behavioural) responses can facilitate emotional understanding and group coherence through inter-subjectivity. Here we investigate if observing cues indicating a change in another's body temperature results in a corresponding temperature change in the observer. Methods Thirty-six healthy participants (age; 22.9±3.1 yrs) each observed, then rated, eight purpose-made videos (3 min duration) that depicted actors with either their right or left hand in visibly warm (warm videos) or cold water (cold videos). Four control videos with the actors' hand in front of the water were also shown. Temperature of participant observers' right and left hands was concurrently measured using a thermistor within a Wheatstone bridge with a theoretical temperature sensitivity of <0.0001°C. Temperature data were analysed in a repeated measures ANOVA (temperature × actor's hand × observer's hand). Results Participants rated the videos showing hands immersed in cold water as being significantly cooler than hands immersed in warm water, F(1,34) = 256.67, p0.1). There was however no evidence of left-right mirroring of these temperature effects p>0.1). Sensitivity to temperature contagion was also predicted by inter-individual differences in self-report empathy. Conclusions We illustrate physiological contagion of temperature in healthy individuals, suggesting that empathetic understanding for primary low-level physiological challenges (as well as more complex emotions) are grounded in somatic simulation

Joy without demands: Hospital clowns in the world of ailing children

The aim of the present study was to achieve, using an affect theory approach (Tomkins, 1962; 1963; 1991), a deeper theoretical understanding of the psychological significance of hospital clowns' work in caring for ailing children viewed from a care-giver perspective. The methodological approach was qualitative and based on 20 interviews with healthcare staff: 3 men and 17 women. The result showed how the staff emphasized a psychological quality of care alongside the physical quality of care. The hospital clowns' “unexpected possibility” provided a safe area for recovery, for both the children and the staff. The theoretical interpretation showed the presence of the affects surprise/startle, interest/excitement, and enjoyment/joy as well as specifically how “joy without demands” often had a lingering effect in the form of vitality. Joy without demands is discussed in relation to psychological theory with emphasis on: a confirmation of the body's possibilities, a magical attachment, a chance to transcend boundaries, and a non-demanding situation

A listener model: introducing personality traits

International audienceWe present a computational model that generates listening behaviour for a virtual agent. It triggers backchannel signals according to the user's visual and acoustic behaviour. The appropriateness of the backchannel algorithm in a user-agent situation of storytelling, has been evaluated by naïve participants, who judged the algorithm-ruled timing of backchannels more positively than a random timing. The system can generate different types of backchannels. The choice of the type and the frequency of the backchannels to be displayed is performed considering the agent's personality traits. The personality of the agent is defined in terms of two dimensions, extroversion and neuroticism. We link agents with a higher level of extroversion to a higher tendency to perform more backchannels than introverted ones, and we link neuroticism to less mimicry production and more response and reactive signals sent. We run a perception study to test these relations in agent-user interactions, as evaluated by third parties. We find that the selection of the frequency of backchannels performed by our algorithm contributes to the correct interpretation of the agent's behaviour in terms of personality traits