TITLE:
Facial Expression Reactions to Feedback in a Human-Computer Interaction—Does Gender Matter?
AUTHORS:
Stefanie Rukavina, Sascha Gruss, Holger Hoffmann, Harald C. Traue
KEYWORDS:
Affective Computing, Facial Expression, FACES, Positive and Negative Feedback, Gender Difference
JOURNAL NAME:
Psychology,
Vol.7 No.3,
March
24,
2016
ABSTRACT: The present study investigated facial
expressions as reactions to positive and negative feedback during a
human-computer interaction. Thirty subjects interacted in natural language with
a computer system while conducting a mental task, which was designed in the
style of a Wizard of Oz scenario. During six different experimental sequences
from a well-known memory paradigm (“Concentration”), the wizard produced
different feedback as a manipulative tactic to alter the users’ reactions,
e.g., praising the subject was assumed to exert a positive influence on the
subjects’ moods. To analyze the impact of various feedback on the emotional
reaction, facial expressions from all subjects were coded with the Facial
Expression Coding System (FACES). In general, the outcomes yielded more
negative facial expressions in response to positive feedback as compared with
negative feedback. Furthermore, a gender difference was evident: women showed
significantly more negative facial expressions in response to praise (“Your
performance is improving”) than men. The study and results show that when
considering future companion technologies, it is important to carefully
investigate users’ reactions to feedback, since paradoxical reactions may
ensue.