IET Technology Coffee Morning: xDelia – Using serious games linked to physiological sensors to improve financial decision-making

Abstract: During this Technology Coffee Morning, we shall demonstrate how we are using serious-games linked to physiological sensors to teach emotion regulation, and you will have the opportunity to try them out.

The xDelia (Xcellence in Decision-making through Enhanced Learning in Immersive Applications) project is exploring the use of serious games linked to physiological sensors to detect and address the impact of people’s behaviours, habits and emotional states when they make financial decisions. The aim of the project is to develop learning interventions that will improve financial decision making of our target group, private traders, by enabling them to regulate their emotions so that they make better trading decisions.

We demonstrated the validity of heart-rate variability (HRV) as a measure of emotion regulation capability in years 1 and 2 of the project through studies using professional traders. In year 3, we are incorporating HRV sensors into serious games to act as learning elements along a learning pathway lasting approximately 6 months. Unlike many sensor-based gaming approaches which use sensor feedback as input to the game, the xDelia games provide a real-time visualisation of physiological data to the player to help them learn how to regulate their emotional responses.

The learning interventions involve serious games and activities that act as diagnostics and as learning elements, visualising the emotion regulation strategy as it is revealed during game play and showing the player what impact this is having on their financial decisions. They are used both to teach emotion regulation techniques such as mindfulness as well as to provide a safe environment in which to try out these techniques, incorporating financially realistic tasks that do not risk losing money.

Presenters: Dr Gill Clough (IET), Dr Gareth Davies (OUBS), Dr Mark Gaved (OUBS)

Location: Jennie Lee Building Meeting Room 1 Ground Floor

Date:  21 September 2011

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Link to TCM 2011 Schedule: http://www.cloudworks.ac.uk/cloudscape/view/2107

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