Research Facilities
Flanner Hall
eMotion and eCognition Lab
Director: Dr. Charles R. Crowell
Assistant Director: Dr. Michael A. Villano
B09A Flanner
The eMotion and eCognition Lab is focused on the interactions of humans and technology, and the way that technology can be harnessed to improve the human experience. To that end, we have three main research foci:
1. Facial expressions and how people react to them. Work in this area includes but is not limited to (a) the study of how people imitate the facial expressions of others, (b) how people are affected in interview situations by the facial expressions and other personal characteristics of the interviewer, and (c) the dynamics of interpersonal interactions during videoconferencing.
2. Working with artificial entities (e.g., robots/avatars). Studies in this area will include a focus on (a) how humans respond to robots and other artificial entities when they are more or less human-like, and (b) how to use virtual environments to study social interactions.
3. The dynamics of human imitation and movement. Studies in this area include focus on (a) the ways in which people get primed to move in certain ways based on what see just before they move, (b) the role of visual or auditory feedback in guiding imitation or enhancing movement patterns, (c) the role of experience or expertise in the quality of imitation/movement, and (d) the effects on imitation/movement of taxing various cognitive functions.
Opportunities for students in this lab include:
Helping run participants
Assisting in the design and implementation of new experiments
Analyzing data
Working with state-of-the-art (motion capture, high end audio-video equipment, 3D projection, sound isolation booths, and an autonomous robot)