Investigating the Psychological Impact of Emotion Visualization and Heart Rate Sharing in Online Communication

Abstract

In recent years, the integration of physical and cyber spaces has rapidly progressed. Sensing data from various sources is increasingly being fed back into physical space, and there are increasing cases of sensing and utilizing human biosignal information and emotions as well. This study investigates the psychological effects of visualizing and sharing people’s emotions and heart rate through two case studies. The first case study examines the psychological effects and usefulness of sharing others’ emotion and heart rate by displaying them beside he or she in physical space using a prototype of an augmented reality application called “Emo-Space”. The second case study proposes chat systems called “Emo-Circle” and “Heart-View” that allow for the visualization and sharing of emotions and heart rate and examines the effects of using the system on interpersonal relationships and self-awareness of emotions. We provide insights from the two case studies into that how such data of emotions and heart rate data indicating the physical and mental states of individuals can be applied to daily lives, including communication with others.