A fuzzy computational model for emotion regulation based on Affect Control Theory
In this article, we introduce a computational model for the appraisal processes underlying emotion regulation from the perspective of Affect Control Theory. According to this theory, the affective meaning of emotions, behaviours, objects, and other entities can be assessed and projected onto a three dimensional space of evaluation, potency, and activity. This concept was applied to events occurring in the environment of an affective agent in order to study the dynamics of emotional changes caused by these events. Several appraisal processes were used to effectively analyze the affective impact of the occurred events and to interpret them in terms of the three dimensions of the affect control theory. A fuzzy automata framework was investigated and found to be a good fit to represent the dynamics of changes in the affective states and to effectively picture the transitions between different emotional response levels. Based on the results obtained from conducted experiments, we can argue that the proposed model has the potential to be used in predicting the emotional changes in (human/virtual) agents as a result of the occurrence of emotion triggering events. Furthermore, it would appear that the proposed model has the capability to be used as the kernel of an extended system developed for reverse engineering events, and to generate and apply those in favor of emotion regulation process.
2016 IEEE International Conference on Fuzzy Systems (FUZZ IEEE)