A Agliati

A multimodal database as a background for emotional synthesis, recognition and training in e-learning systems

This paper presents a multimodal database developed within the EU-funded project MYSELF. The project aims at developing an e-learning platform endowed with affective computing capabilities for the training of relational skills through interactive simulations. The database includes data coming from 34 participants and concerning physiological parameters, vocal nonverbal features, facial expression and posture. Ten different emotions were considered (anger, joy, sadness, fear, contempt, shame, guilt, pride, frustration and boredom), ranging from primary to self-conscious emotions of particular relevance in learning process and interpersonal relationships. Preliminary results and analyses are presented, together with directions for future work.

A new methodological approach to nonverbal behavior analysis in cultural perspective.

The measurement of human behavior is a complex task, both for psychologists and human sciences researchers and with respect to technology, since advanced and sophisticated instruments may have to be implemented to manage the plurality of variables involved. In this article, an observational study is presented in which a quantitative procedure, theexternal variables method (Duncan & Fiske, 1977), was integrated with a structural analysis (Magnusson, 1993, 2000) in order to detect the hidden organization of nonverbal behavior in Italian and Icelandic interactions. To this aim, Theme software was introduced and employed. The results showed that both the frequency and the typology of gestures deeply change as a function of culture. Moreover, a high number of patterns was detected in both Italian and Icelandic interactions: They appeared to be complex sequences in which a huge number of events were constantly happening and recurring. In this domain, Theme software provides a methodological progression from the quantitative to the structural approach.

Does Training Toddlers in Emotion Knowledge Lead to Changes in Their Prosocial and Aggressive Behavior toward Peers at Nursery

ABSTRACT Research Findings: Within the flourishing area of research demonstrating the efficacy of emotion-based interventions carried out by trained teachers in educational contexts in increasing children’s emotional skills, this study makes an original contribution to the existing literature by focusing on the effects of this kind of intervention on toddlers’ prosocial and aggressive behavior. Ninety-five 26- to 36-month-olds participated in a 2-month intervention in which trained teachers read emotion-based stories to small groups of children and then either involved them in conversations about emotions (experimental condition) or did not (control condition). Even after we controlled for age and general language ability, the children in the experimental condition were found to outperform the control group on measures of emotion knowledge and emotional-state talk. Furthermore, the intervention fostered gains in prosocial behavior, whereas it did not have a significant effect on the frequency of aggressive actions, which was lower at posttest in both groups. The positive effect of the training program on participants’ prosocial behavior was no longer significant when we controlled for gains in emotion knowledge and emotional-state talk. Practice or Policy: The results encourage the implementation of early educational programs focused on emotion knowledge in order to foster children’s prosocial behavior toward peers.