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Affect and exertion during incremental physical exercise: Examining changes using automated facial action analysis
1Sport and Exercise Psychology, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany.
Plos One
|February 12, 2020
Summary
Automated facial analysis reveals how facial actions like mouth opening and nose wrinkling reflect feelings during exercise. This technology offers new insights into exercise affect and exertion, aiding coaches in monitoring exerciser states.
Area of Science:
- Exercise Physiology
- Affective Science
- Biometric Analysis
Background:
- Affective responses during exercise significantly influence future physical activity.
- Traditional measurement relies on self-report scales, which can be intrusive.
- Automated facial action analysis offers a novel, non-intrusive method for assessing exercise-related affect.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the use of automated facial action analysis to detect affective changes during exercise.
- To correlate specific facial actions with affective valence and ratings of perceived exertion (RPE).
- To explore the utility of facial analysis in understanding the body's response to increasing exercise intensity.
Main Methods:
- 132 healthy young individuals underwent an incremental cycling test.
- Facial videos were recorded and analyzed using automated facial action analysis software at 30 fps.
- Multilevel regression and correlation analyses modeled facial actions against self-reported affective valence and RPE.
Main Results:
- A quadratic decline in affective valence was observed as exercise intensity increased.
- The facial action 'mouth open' correlated with changes in affective valence and RPE.
- Specific facial actions predicted RPE (mouth open, jaw drop) and negative affect (nose wrinkle).
Conclusions:
- Automated facial action analysis is a viable tool for researching affective responses during exercise.
- Facial expressions provide objective indicators of exertion and negative affect during physical activity.
- Findings suggest negative affect during exercise may signal impending physiological overload, offering practical monitoring tools for educators and coaches.
