Mobile phone tool tracks emotional behaviour

’Emotionsense’ uses speech-recognition software and sensors in standard smart phones to assess how people’s emotions are influenced by factors such as their surroundings, the time of day, or their relationships with others.

It was developed by a Cambridge University-led team of academics, including psychologists and computer scientists.

Early results suggest that the technology could provide psychologists with a much deeper insight into how our emotional peaks − such as periods of happiness, anger or stress − are related to where we are, what we are doing or who we are with.

’Everyone has a mobile phone, so potentially they are a perfect tool if you want to track the behaviour or emotional condition of large numbers of people,’ said Dr. Cecilia Mascolo from Cambridge University’s Computer Laboratory.

’What we are trying to produce is a completely non-intrusive means of achieving this that also respects privacy. In time, it could have an enormous impact on the way in which we study human behaviour and give psychologists a deeper insight into what it is that makes different types of people tick.’