Affective rating of audio and video clips using the EmojiGrid

Abstract

Background: In this study we measured the affective appraisal of sounds and video clips using a newly developed graphical self-report tool: the EmojiGrid. The EmojiGrid is a square grid, labeled with emoji that express different degrees of valence and arousal. Users rate the valence and arousal of a given stimulus by simply clicking on the grid. Methods: In Experiment I, observers (N=150, 74 males, mean age=25.2±3.5) used the EmojiGrid to rate their affective appraisal of 77 validated sound clips from nine different semantic categories, covering a large area of the affective space. In Experiment II, observers (N=60, 32 males, mean age=24.5±3.3) used the EmojiGrid to rate their affective appraisal of 50 validated film fragments varying in positive and negative affect (20 positive, 20 negative, 10 neutral). Results: The results of this study show that for both sound and video, the agreement between the mean ratings obtained with the EmojiGrid and those obtained with an alternative and validated affective rating tool in previous studies in the literature, is excellent for valence and good for arousal. Our results also show the typical universal U-shaped relation between mean valence and arousal that is commonly observed for affective sensory stimuli, both for sound and video. Conclusions: We conclude that the EmojiGrid can be used as an affective self-report tool for the assessment of sound and video-evoked emotions.

Proposal for determining valence and arousal thresholds: Compromised pleasure threshold, unpleasure threshold, and arousal threshold

“…AS was systematically compared to the popular Self‐Assessment Manikin (SAM) and validated as a self‐assessment method that uses modern design, inside the interfaces and metacommunicative pictorial representations. The research on human emotions using AS is rising, notably in psychological investigations to assess people's affective states (Flynn et al, 2020; López‐Carral, Grechuta, Verschure, & Doering, 2020; Quoidbach, Sugitani, Gross, Taquet, & Akutsu, 2019; Rietveld, van Dolen, Mazloom, & Worring, 2020; Schaefer, Reinhardt, Garbow, & Dressler, 2020), which demonstrates the potential of this new measurement tool with modern design principles to access human emotion (Lemos et al, 2020; Mogilever et al, 2018; Toet et al, 2018; Toet & van Erp, 2020). In the current pandemic situation of COVID‐19, AS is an ally in this research, due to be easily reproduced in digital devices (e.g., desktops, notebooks, smartphones, and tablets).…”

“…T A B L E 1 Summary of participant characteristics in Espírito Santo, Brazil (n = 202) 's degree/specialization) Postgraduate (PhD)Household income (R$)Less than 1 salary (<1.045,00) 1-3 salaries (1.045,00-3.135,00) 3-5 salaries(3.135,00-5.225,00) 5-10 salaries (5.225,00-10.045,00) 10-15 salaries (10.045,00-15.675,00) More than 15 salaries (>15.675,00)Consume cakeOften (one to seven times a week) Sometimes (one to three times a month) Rarely (less than once a month)Consume carrot cakeOften (one to seven times a week) Sometimes (one to three times a month) Rarely (less than once a month) investigations to assess people's affective states(Flynn et al, 2020;L opez-Carral, Grechuta, Verschure, & Doering, 2020;Quoidbach, Sugitani, Gross, Taquet, & Akutsu, 2019;Rietveld, van Dolen, Mazloom, & Worring, 2020;Schaefer, Reinhardt, Garbow, & Dressler, 2020), which demonstrates the potential of this new measurement tool with modern design principles to access human emotion(Lemos et al, 2020;Mogilever et al, 2018;Toet et al, 2018;Toet & van Erp, 2020). In the current pandemic situation of COVID-19, AS is an ally in this research, due to be easily reproduced in digital devices (e.g., desktops, notebooks, smartphones, and tablets).Following the detailed guidelines and design recommendations (S1 guidelines)(Betella & Verschure, 2016), along with the procedures adopted from Lima Filho et al (2015), we developed an online questionnaire composed of four main sections: (a) informed consent and collection of sociodemographic data (frequency of consumption of Brazilian carrot cake, gender, age, income and level of education);(b) instructions, (c) photoclassification; and (d) debriefing.…”