For this blog – I am asking different people who have been involved to add to the blog. Karl has been invaluable over the last week, to discuss ideas, and help build the work. I have had to cut this blog into three parts, as with the a-n blog you are only allowed to write 500 words at a time
Dr Karl Broome Is currently a research fellow in the sociology department working on the project ‘Supporting Shy Users in Pervasive Computing’, an EPSRC funded research project on the WINES programme, undertaken by the departments of Informatics and Sociology at the University of Sussex
KARL BROOME – PART 4
Today Chameleon, Prototype 8 was open to the public. Time was spent
altering the position of the camera used to ‘read’ the facial
expressions/emotional states of interactants, and in testing out the
overall running of the software on the Pixy screen. Before we knew it,
3pm had arrived and a group of around six young adults descended into
the space to experience what prototype 8 was all about. Tina, Michael,
and Natacha all contributed to explaining the different aspects and
workings of prototype 8. When watching the group of visitors interact
with Prototype 8, it seemed that the experience of the emotional
contagion in this context is socially negotiated. Although the emotional
expressions of the film on the pixy screen is the outcome of how the
software responds to the ‘emotional data’ provided by the individual
face captured by the camera, the ‘meaning’ – and arguably the emotional
experience – of this interaction in this situation seems to a
considerable degree to be socially shaped. For example, if prototype 8
responds to an individual’s facial expression with anger or sadness, the
individual’s response is not necessarily angry or sad, but rather it
appeared to be significantly dependent upon how his or her companions
also responded to the sounds and images produced through the interaction
– that is, the individual’s emotional contagion appeared to be affected
by collective response. That said there were a number distractions in
the form of a few ‘teething problems’ that may have impacted upon
visitors experiences. Nevertheless, when reflecting upon my own
experiences and observations within the space, it would appear at first
glance that the social context in which Prototype 8 is experienced makes
a significant impact upon levels of emotional contagion and mimicry. It
will therefore be very interesting to observe over the next few days
whether or not individuals appear to experience more emotional contagion
when interacting with Prototype 8 on their own.
