Anuja Hariharan

Blended Emotion Detection for Decision Support

Emotion elicitation and classification have been performed on standardized stimuli sets, such as international affective picture systems and international affective digital sound. However, the literature which elicits and classifies emotions in a financial decision making context is scarce. In this paper, we present an evaluation to detect emotions of private investors through a controlled trading experiment. Subjects reported their level of rejoice and regret based on trading outcomes, and physiological measurements of skin conductance response and heart rate were obtained. To detect emotions, three labeling methods, namely binary, tri-, and tetrastate blended models were compared by means of C4.5, CART, and random forest algorithms, across different window lengths for heart rate. Taking moving window lengths of 2.5s prior to and 0.3s postevent (parasympathetic phase) led to the highest accuracies. Comparing labeling methods, accuracies were 67% for binary rejoice, 44% for a tristate, and 45% for a tetrastate blended emotion models. The CART yielded the highest accuracies.

Think, feel, bid: the impact of environmental conditions on the role of bidders’ cognitive and affective processes in auction bidding

Environmental conditions and the interplay of cognitive and affective processes both exert influences on bidding behavior. This paper brings the above together, considering how the (external) auction environment determines the impact of (internal) cognitive and affective processes on bidding behavior, assessed in comparison to the optimal bid. Two aspects of the auction environment were considered, namely auction dynamics (low: first-price sealed-bid auction, high: Dutch auction) and value uncertainty (low, high). In a laboratory experiment, we assess bidders’ cognitive workload and emotional arousal through physiological measurements. We find that higher auction dynamics increase the impact of emotional arousal on bid deviations, but not that of cognitive workload. Higher value uncertainty, conversely, increases the impact of cognitive workload on bid deviations, but not that of emotional arousal. Taken together, the auction environment is a critical factor in understanding the nature of the underlying decision process and its impact on bids.

A practical guide for human lab experiments in information systems research: A tutorial with Brownie

Purpose Human lab experiments have become an established method in information systems research for investigating user behavior, perception and even neurophysiology. The purpose of this paper is to facilitate experimental research by providing a practical guide on how to implement and conduct lab experiments in the freely available experimental platform Brownie. Design/methodology/approach Laying the groundwork of the tutorial, the paper first provides a brief overview of common design considerations for lab experiments and a generic session framework. Building on the use case of the widely used trust game, the paper then covers the different stages involved in running an experimental session and maps the conceptual elements of the study design to the implementation of the experimental software. Findings The paper generates findings on how computerized lab experiments can be designed and implemented. Furthermore, it maps out the design considerations an experimenter may take into account when implementing an experiment and organizing it along a session structure (e.g. participant instructions, individual and group interaction, state and trait questionnaires). Originality/value The paper reduces barriers for researchers to engage in experiment implementation and replication by providing a step-by-step tutorial for the design and implementation of human lab experiments.

Impact of Cognitive Workload and Emotional Arousal on Performance in Cooperative and Competitive Interactions

We examine whether changes in the social environment (competitive or cooperative), affect the relationship between the internal state (cognitive workload and emotional arousal), and the performance in a given task. In a controlled experimental game setting, participants played cooperatively and competitively with different partners. EEG activity and heart rate changes measured cognitive workload and emotional arousal respectively. Cognitive workload was associated negatively with performance in the competitive but not the cooperative mode. By contrast, arousal was associated negatively with performance in the cooperative mode but not the competitive mode.