The emotional spectrum analysis 16 EEG system: Practical and conceptual considerations for objectively investigating experienced emotion in design research

The contemporary reorientation of design research interest away from cognitive transparency in product interfaces towards the imbuement of designed artefacts with emotion-eliciting qualities has precipitated a surge of interest in means of assessing emotionally objectively. A number of methodologies have been proposed that provide a framework for participants' emotional expression (e.g. Kansei rating scales, PrEmo cards). However, these methods are of limited use in more interactive scenarios. Physiological assessment of emotion via tools developed in psychology and neuroscience potentially represent non-invasive means of assessing participants' emotional state without requiring their active reflection. Using as a vehicle for discussion the Emotional Spectrum Analysis system developed by BFL, Kawasaki, Japan, we discuss the contemporary neuroscientific conception of emotion, and the difficulties of adapting research techniques and equipment from academic science to the applied arena of design research, particularly the low intensity of emotion experiences in design research tasks and the difficulties of categorising emotion. We conclude that while such techniques show promise, they are currently underdeveloped, and we draw attention to the potential over-emphasis in the field toward ojective assessment of a superficial elicitation of emotional experience, for example by seeing or using a product, at the expense of pursuing a deeper understanding of how people interact emotionally with designed artefacts at the level of personal narrative.