Evaluating a cognitive-based affective student model

Abstract

Predicting students' emotion raises several questions about the data on which these predictions should be grounded. This article describes an empirical evaluation of a cognitive-based affective user model accomplished with 7th grade students. The affective model is based on the OCC psychological theory of emotions in order to infer the students' emotions from their actions and choices in the interface of the learning system. The model relies on a BDI model to implement the process of inference of students' emotions in a web-based learning environment. Two experiments were conducted based on a direct and an indirect approach. The results of the evaluation are discussed and some ideas of improvement for the experiments protocol are presented. © 2011 Springer-Verlag.