In this project the PI will explore a novel experimental and methodological framework for measuring and understanding the role of stress in student performance on exams. Stress is defined here as sympathetic arousal, an ever-present mechanism that helps humans cope with perceived threats or challenges. The planned experiments, in which criticality and computer-mediation define the two axes of the experimental space, will cover a rich set of combinations that include bi-weekly exams each of which counts for a small percentage of the grade vs. midterm and final exams that each count for a large percentage of the grade, alternately offered in paper and iPad forms. Subjects will be randomly divided into control and interventional groups; in the interventional group the time will be relaxed, to determine the effect of stress reduction on the evolution of competency. Unobtrusive measurements (to ensure non-interference with the observed behaviors) will span the genetic, physiological and psychological levels, while micro to macro measurements will afford a deep understanding of the issues. While most HCI-related projects aim to change the design of the interface, this research instead investigates the possibility of "changing" the human (student) by revolutionizing relevant aspects of the educational system. Improving the human-computer interface is a secondary aim where, depending upon the success of the intervention, stress-reduction designs can be conceived to counter-balance the time stressor.
Broader Impacts: This research tries to identify and suggest ways to correct problems in paper- vs. computer-mediated exams, precipitated by strong sympathetic responses. To this end the PI explores the role of the time stressor, and in so doing questions certain aspects of the prevailing educational philosophy.
This research first validated the use of wearable electrodermal activity sensors at specific body locations of neurophysiological importance, that is, finger, palmar, wrist, and plantar sites. The validation study documented that the wrist location is problematic, while it highlighted the goodness of the other locations. This is of fundamental importance, as several studies up to now were using the wrist location in mild stressor contexts, where the results could be questionable. Having the wisdom of the validation results, the research proceeded with two affective studies: (a) A longitudinal study of exam performance vs. sympathetic arousal in undergraduate students and (b) A study of reading performance vs. sympathetic arousal in children. The outocme of the first study was that exam difficulty could be objectively quantified via the mean sympathetic responses in a set of students truly engaged to the task. The outcome of the second study was that poor readers in a developmental age exhibit strong sympathetic arousal in difficult reading. In contradistinction, good readers in a developmental age do not exhibit significant sympathetic arousal in difficult reading with one interesting exception; this exception is good readers with low self esteem, which in some cases we documented that was due to parental projection. The main indicator used in these studies was the EDA response on the palm (via the wearble EDA sensor) vs. the exam or reading performance. However, the study results were situated (and interpreted) in a multi-level context provided by an array of mixed methods channels, including adrenergic (cardiac and breathing), observational (facial and limb kinetics), psychometric (several inventories), and biographic. This research opens the way for objective quantification of exam difficulty - an elusive concept up to now. As wearable sensors and massive online exams proliferate, this method may be used to ascribe physiological weights to critical tests that will complement the grade statistics. The grant's research also introduces a method to spot the hidden emotional cost in certain children that may appear top performers. The potential impact of the knowledge gained in this effort in education and psychology, is a testament to the power of affective computing. The project also produced a compact visual interface to summarize the results of affective computing studies that use mixed methods. The value of this interace in supporting analysis cannot be overestimated, as mixed methods in longitudinal studies are becoming the norm, producing huge data sets that are difficult to get a conceptual handle on and interact with.
