Using TouchPad pressure to detect negative affect

Abstract

Humans naturally use behavioral cues in their interactions with other humans. The Media Equation proposes that these same cues are directed towards media, including computers. It is probable that detection of these cues by a computer during run-time could improve usability design and analysis. A preliminary experiment testing one of these cues, Synaptics TouchPad pressure, shows that behavioral cues can be used as a critical incident indicator by detecting negative affect.