Emotion Measurements Through the Touch of Materials Surfaces

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Materials Science
• Human-Computer Interaction

Background:

• Understanding the emotional impact of material touch is crucial for product design.
• Previous research has explored tactile perception, but the direct link to emotional response and physiological measures is less understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the emotional responses elicited by touching various materials.
• To correlate subjective emotional ratings with objective physiological measurements of the autonomic nervous system.

Main Methods:

• A blind assessment protocol involving 25 university students touching 12 diverse materials.
• Emotional response measurement using a questionnaire (valence, intensity) and pupillometry to track autonomic nervous system activity.
• Recording pupil diameter variations during tactile exploration and after stimulus presentation.

Main Results:

• Pupil size variation directly correlates with the emotional intensity of the material touch.
• Significantly larger pupil dilations were observed for pleasant and unpleasant materials compared to neutral ones.
• Post-stimulus analysis revealed differences in pupil response between pleasant and unpleasant stimuli, and higher pupil dilation in women compared to men.

Conclusions:

• The autonomic nervous system's initial response to tactile stimuli is sensitive to arousal.
• Pupil size changes reflect cognitive interest and emotional regulation after initial sensory processing.
• Emotional characterization of materials offers valuable insights for innovative product design.