A new experimental paradigm for affective research in neuro-adaptive technologies

One core challenge in the field of neuro-adaptive technology is the detection of the current mental user state. Existing experimental paradigms use established stimulus material (e.g. pictures) to induce affective user states and make them measurable. Since these paradigms lack ecological validity, there is a pressing need to design more interactive stimulus material that allows a reliably and systematical induction of different affective user states in more realistic scenarios. We present and empirically validate a new experimental paradigm featuring a simulated adaptive system that induces positive and negative affective user states through supporting or impeding goal achievement during a navigation task. Furthermore, we tested the feasibility of quantifying underlying neurophysiological processes of affective states by simultaneous investigations of electroencephalographic and functional near-infrared spectroscopic. These investigations further show the effectiveness of our paradigm in inducing different levels of affect and provides an indication of features of brain activity containing discriminative information, a proposal that warrants further investigation in a larger cohort of participants.