Tuesday, May 25, 2010

A possible change in stimulus?

I've asked around for possible test subjects, and with the 2010 FIFA world cup happening soon, I might consider either using that or one of the European leagues currently playing as stimulus. Advantages with this stimulus is that it harder to watch entire games live due to the time difference (hence, it is more likely that test participants will not know the outcome of given stimulus). However, as previously mentioned, there aren't too many definite moments in a football match (e.g. scoring a goal) where affect can be annotated.

Another stimulus i could use are UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) or Boxing matches. The format of UFC matches (3 or 5 rounds of 5 minutes each with 1 minute of rest between each round) aligns closely with previous studies carried out using video stimulus. Also, the sport is not widely broadcast locally, which makes it easier to find subjects who won't know the result of a match (so their recordings will be more 'authentic'). The downside is that fights are very unpredictable and short; Most fights last for less than 2 or 3 rounds.

Analysing psychophysiological signals

After a week off last week due to a few assignments, I've been making an effort to catch up on work, especially with the progress report due next week. Reading this week was on a text book recommended by Rafa called "Psychophysiological Recording" (Stern, 2001). Currently I am familiarising myself with the equipment used in physiological recording and the analysis of EEG and EMG signals.