Frustrating the user on purpose: using biosignals in a pilot study to detect the user's emotional state

Our goal was to develop a computer system trained to sense a user’s emotional state via the recognition of physiological signals. In the course of developing an exploratory pilot study toward this end, we encountered and addressed unique and context-dependent interface design and synchronization challenges. We used social science methods to induce a state of frustration in users, collected the physiological data, and developed an effective strategy for coupling these data with real-world events.