Your View on Feelings and Emotions

Emotion is the basis of our response to the physical world. Feeling represents the subjective experience aroused by these emotions (for example happiness, surprise, fear, disgust, sadness, etc). Such reactions differ from person to person, but they influence many aspects of human decision-making. If these phenomena were able to be measured objectively, the results could be used in a variety of beneficial ways –such us adapting working environment and conditions, improving the domestic landscape, make tools more user-friendly, improving the treatment of diseases –and in doing so it would be possible to enhance the quality of life of many persons. However before one can measure emotions, the emotions have to be identified and characterized and this is still a controversial issue. Furthermore a careful attention should be paid to the possible risks incurred when measuring the feeling and emotions that form an integral part of daily human life.

We would like to know your personal opinions about these issues. Therefore we encourage you to fill in the enclosed survey. It will take you only a few minutes and would help us a lot!!!.

Preliminary questions:

1) Are you Male or Female?
Male
Female

2) What is your age?

3) What is the highest level of education you have completed?

Please tell us how much you agree or disagree with the following statements:

4) Today is not possible to measure feelings and emotions.
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Undecided
Agree
Strongly Agree

5) It is possible to stimulate positive feelings such as love, respect, empathy,... using appropriate technologies.
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Undecided
Agree
Strongly Agree

6) A better understanding of the scientific problems and technological possibilities of measuring human feelings and emotions can be useful to improve our quality of life.
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Undecided
Agree
Strongly Agree

7) Before developing new technologies for measuring human feelings and emotions we should consider specific applications and the consequences of any possible misusing.
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Undecided
Agree
Strongly Agree

8) Given people the knowledge to measure our emotions will inevitably lead to the possibility of manipulate them.
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Undecided
Agree
Strongly Agree

9) The emotions and feelings are different depending on
(Note: 1 = Strongly Disagree; 5 = Strongly agree).

	1	2	3	4	5
Gender (Male/Female)
Cultural aspects
Level of education
Race
Religious affiliation

Please rank the following questions:

10) Please rank the easiness/difficulty to measure the following basic emotions
(Note: 1 = Very difficult to measure; 6 = Very easy to measure).

	1	2	3	4	5	6
Fear
Anger
Disgust
Surprise
Happiness
Sadness
Shame
Interest
Guilt
Contempt

11) Please rank potential of the following technologies to measure human feelings and emotions
(Note: 1 = Low potential; 6 = High potential).

	1	2	3	4	5	6
Electroencephalography (EEG)
Electrocardiography (ECG)
Electromyography (EMG)
Electrooculography (EOG)
Skin responses
Blood presure
Pulse features
Pulse Oximetry
Respiration parameters
Temperature, Thermography
Vidography
Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)
Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT)
Positron Emission Tomography (PET)
Magnetoencephalography (MEG)
Specific biosensors (such as an artificial nose, etc)
Other:
Other:
Other:

12) Finally, please feel free to suggest additional comments related to any of the items in this survey. Actual stories and future predictions are welcome: