This paper addresses the challenge faced by call center operators supporting family members of individuals with Substance Use Disorders (SUDs), particularly the difficulty of detecting emotional distress in callers during high-pressure interactions. We developed a lightweight, real-time Speech Emotion …

This study investigates how human resemblance in avatars shapes mind perception. Virtual worlds are often praised for their potential to transform how people collaborate, learn, and play. Yet this promise relies on our willingness to treat others in a genuinely human way. Mind perception theory defines …

Background and need for innovation: In healthcare, emotions are traditionally avoided as they might cloud clinical judgement. However, ignoring emotions may lead to emotional exhaustion and burnout, jeopardising quality of care. More attention to emotions is needed to support healthcare professionals’ …

This thesis focuses on the design and development of an emotion-evoking humanoid creature design for Morpheus Labs, to facilitate the creation of a horror VR experience in Unreal Engine 5. The project focuses on the client’s lack of knowledge about creating an effective and emotionally impactful design, …

Introduction Co-rumination, characterized by excessively discussing problems and dwelling on negative affect within a dyadic friendship, has been associated with adolescents' symptoms of depression, anxiety and perceived stress-collectively referred to as psychological distress. This study explored whether …

In this thesis, we focus on developing behaviours for socially interactive agents (SIAs). The context in which the agent is used is a self-regulated learning system for children. We focus on personalising learning objectives and interaction content within an intelligent tutoring system (ITS). We envision …

Humanlike virtual influencers (HVIs) mimic human influencers (HIs), but how do consumers perceive them, and how does this affect persuasion knowledge? This experiment examines how consumers differentiate HVIs from HIs based on two mental states – intentions and emotions– and how differences in mind perception …

This research paper investigates the importance of intrinsically motivated employees in the implementation of an eco-positive policy at Het Scheepvaartmuseum. This topic is significant because the outcome does not only benefit this specific museum, it would also set an example for sustainability in the …

The importance of learning to create an expressive performance is a consistently discussed topic in music education. However, how musicians develop “expressiveness” is still understudied. Recent investigations haveshown that musicians’ motor behavior is a significant source of perceptual information …

Background The importance of learning to create an expressive performance is a consistently discussed topic in music education. However, how musicians develop “expressiveness” is still understudied. Recent investigations have shown that musicians’ motor behavior is a significant source of perceptual …