An article entitled as “Understanding the Relation Between Emotion and Physical Movements” was published in International Journal of Affective Engineering. Professor Suk has co-authored this work and primarily studied by Tek-Jin Nam, a Professor of Department of Industrial Design. In this study, emprical studies were carried out to identify the relationship between the attributes of physical movement and emotional elicitation.

Abstract

We present two experiments to understand the relation between the attributes of physical movement and emotional elicitation. For the experiments, we developed a physical movement generation prototype. Four attributes of physical movement, speed, smoothness, path, and volume, were identified from the review of existing theories and interviews with performing artists. These attributes were used as control parameters in our study. We used the affective grid with pleasure and arousal to identify the relation between the types of physical movement and specific emotions. The results demonstrated that physical movement can easily evoke some areas of emotion. In particular, it was found that emotions in both pleasure and arousal dimension were positively correlated with speed. Finally, we discuss the implications of the results and how physical movement can enhance emotional qualities in the design of interactive products.

Full text in International Journal of Affective Engineering