Reproduction of Internal States by Video-Stimulated Recall of Enjoyable Activities

Abstract

Engaging in enjoyable activities with intimate persons have positive effects on both the physical and mental states of a person. For instance, co-eating or chatting with family members or friends tends to elicit positive emotions and feelings. This research aims to analyze the effects of recalling enjoyable experiences, and to gain insights into developing methods for effectively reproducing positive internal state. For this purpose, we conducted preliminary experiments in which original activities were recorded by videos and a heartbeat monitor, and these videos were presented to some participants after a certain number of days with facial expressions and heartbeats measured in the same ways as the original activities. The results show that facial expressions and heart rate features effectively characterize the internal states in the original experiences and when reviewing the recordings. Moreover, the results suggest that there are conditions for evoking internal states similar to the original experiences.