Abstract

This literature review introduced the area of emotionality engineering and analyzed which traditional viewpoints of emotional psychology, measurement methods of emotionality, newly developed, belonged to. In order to relate these new measurement techniques to emotional theories, the definition of human emotion was first reviewed. Psychologists advocated there must be various facets of human emotion. At first, outside emotional stimuli would activate physiological reactivity. Then, this emotional input which is registered would be cognitively appraised at a higher mental activity level. This processed internal information would then be released as a particular form of expression. As explained, the emotional process is not so simple and is not only composed of one layer. This characteristic stimulated various trials to assess emotional states of perceivers. From the old tradition of human research, peripheral neural activity has been measured. Brain activity, galvanic skin resistance, impulse, heart rate, respiration rate and hormonal activity have been measured. However, the most serious problem of these measures was the stability of measurement indices. Although engineers are developing a new algorithm, it doesn`t seem easy to find out consistency among these indices. Also, another problem is whether the subjective emotional experience of individuals is congruent to what a physiological measurement tool reflects. Traditionally, psychological test batteries have been regarded to present a subjective emotional state more effectively. Several assessment tools and their statistical characteristics have been introduced. However, these batteries also have their own weaknesses. These self-report assessment tools cannot be free from response biases. The worst response bias is the so-called "social desirability". Unobtrusive measures would be a substitute for self-report instruments. Therefore, newly developed unobtrusive measurement tools have been introduced, to assess movement of facial muscles and voice fluctuation. Finally, the desirable way to apply these various emotional measures was discussed.