Dataset Information

Design of a Virtual Player for Joint Improvisation with Humans in the Mirror Game.

ABSTRACT: Joint improvisation is often observed among humans performing joint action tasks. Exploring the underlying cognitive and neural mechanisms behind the emergence of joint improvisation is an open research challenge. This paper investigates jointly improvised movements between two participants in the mirror game, a paradigmatic joint task example. First, experiments involving movement coordination of different dyads of human players are performed in order to build a human benchmark. No designation of leader and follower is given beforehand. We find that joint improvisation is characterized by the lack of a leader and high levels of movement synchronization. Then, a theoretical model is proposed to capture some features of their interaction, and a set of experiments is carried out to test and validate the model ability to reproduce the experimental observations. Furthermore, the model is used to drive a computer avatar able to successfully improvise joint motion with a human participant in real time. Finally, a convergence analysis of the proposed model is carried out to confirm its ability to reproduce joint movements between the participants.

SUBMITTER: Zhai C

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4849738 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Design of a Virtual Player for Joint Improvisation with Humans in the Mirror Game.

Zhai Chao C Alderisio Francesco F Słowiński Piotr P Tsaneva-Atanasova Krasimira K di Bernardo Mario M

PloS one 20160428 4

Joint improvisation is often observed among humans performing joint action tasks. Exploring the underlying cognitive and neural mechanisms behind the emergence of joint improvisation is an open research challenge. This paper investigates jointly improvised movements between two participants in the mirror game, a paradigmatic joint task example. First, experiments involving movement coordination of different dyads of human players are performed in order to build a human benchmark. No designation ...[more]

PMID: 27123927

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Project description:BackgroundHigh quality head-mounted display based virtual reality (HMD-VR) has become widely available, spurring greater development of HMD-VR health games. As a behavior change approach, these applications use HMD-VR and game-based formats to support long-term engagement with therapeutic interventions. While the bulk of research to date has primarily focused on the therapeutic efficacy of particular HMD-VR health games, how developers and researchers incorporate best-practices in game design to achieve engaging experiences remains underexplored. This paper presents the findings of a narrative review exploring the trends and future directions of game design for HMD-VR health games.MethodsWe searched the literature on the intersection between HMD-VR, games, and health in databases including MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and Compendex. We identified articles describing HMD-VR games designed specifically as health applications from 2015 onwards in English. HMD-VR health games were charted and tabulated according to technology, health context, outcomes, and user engagement in game design.FindingsWe identified 29 HMD-VR health games from 2015 to 2020, with the majority addressing health contexts related to physical exercise, motor rehabilitation, and pain. These games typically involved obstacle-based challenges and extrinsic reward systems to engage clients in interventions related to physical functioning and pain. Less common were games emphasizing narrative experiences and non-physical exercise interventions. However, discourse regarding game design was diverse and often lacked sufficient detail. Game experience was evaluated using primarily ad-hoc questionnaires. User engagement in the development of HMD-VR health games primarily manifested as user studies.ConclusionHMD-VR health games are promising tools for engaging clients in highly immersive experiences designed to address diverse health contexts. However, more in-depth and structured attention to how HMD-VR health games are designed as game experiences is needed. Future development of HMD-VR health games may also benefit from greater involvement of end-users in participatory approaches.

Project description:Recent research on autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) suggests that individuals with autism may have a basic deficit in synchronizing with others, and that this difficulty may lead to more complex social and communicative deficits. Here, we examined synchronization during an open-ended joint improvisation (JI) paradigm, called the mirror game (MG). In the MG, two players take turns leading, following, and jointly improvising motion using two handles set on parallel tracks, while their motion tracks are recorded with high temporal and spatial resolution. A series of previous studies have shown that players in the MG attain moments of highly synchronized co-confident (CC) motion, in which there is no typical kinematic pattern of leader and reactive follower. It has been suggested that during these moments players act as a coupled unit and feel high levels of connectedness. Here, we aimed to assess whether participants with ASD are capable of attaining CC, and whether their MG performance relates to broader motor and social skills. We found that participants with ASD (n = 34) can indeed attain CC moments when playing with an expert improviser, though their performance was attenuated in several ways, compared to typically developing (TD) participants (n = 35). Specifically, ASD participants had lower rates of CC, compared with TD participants, which was most pronounced during the following rounds. In addition, the duration of their CC segments was shorter, across all rounds. When controlling for participants' motor skills (both on the MG console, and more broadly) some of the variability in MG performance was explained, but group differences remained. ASD participants' alexithymia further correlated with their difficulty following another's lead; though other social skills did not relate to MG performance. Participants' subjective reports of the game suggest that other cognitive and emotional factors, such as attention, motivation, and reward-processing, which were not directly measured in the experiment, may impact their performance. Together, these results show that ASD participants can attain moments of high motor synchronization with an expert improviser, even during an open-ended task. Future studies should examine the ways in which these skills may be further harnessed in clinical settings.

Project description:Performers improvising together describe special moments of 'being in the zone' - periods of high performance, synchrony, and enhanced sense of togetherness. Existing evidence suggests a possible route for attaining togetherness - interpersonal synchrony, the fine-grained sensory-motor coordination that promotes social connectedness. Here, we investigated the physiological characteristics of togetherness using a practice from theater and dance, the mirror game. Pairs of expert improvisers jointly improvised synchronized linear motion, while their motion tracks and cardiovascular activity were continuously monitored. Players also provided dynamic ratings of togetherness while watching video recordings of their games. We identified periods of togetherness using kinematic and subjective markers and assessed their physiological characteristics. The kinematic and the subjective measures of togetherness showed some agreement, with more extensive game periods being marked by the subjective than the kinematic one. Game rounds with high rates of togetherness were characterized by increased players' cardiovascular activity, increased correlation of players' heart rates (HRs), and increased motion intensity. By comparing motion segments with similar motion intensity, we showed that moments of togetherness in the mirror game were marked by increased players' HRs, regardless of motion intensity. This pattern was robust for the subjectively defined periods of togetherness, while showing a marginal effect for the kinematically defined togetherness. Building upon similar findings in flow research we suggest that the observed increase of players' HRs during togetherness periods in the mirror game might indicate the enhanced engagement and enjoyment reported by performers going into 'the zone.' The suggested approach, combining temporal measurements of kinematic, physiological and subjective responses, demonstrates how the dynamics of spontaneously emerging dyadic states can be studied empirically.

Dataset Information

Design of a Virtual Player for Joint Improvisation with Humans in the Mirror Game.

Publications

Design of a Virtual Player for Joint Improvisation with Humans in the Mirror Game.

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