EEVEE: the Empathy-Enhancing Virtual Evolving Environment

Abstract

Empathy is a multifaceted emotional and mental faculty that is often found to be affected in a great number of psychopathologies, such as schizophrenia, yet it remains very difficult to measure in an ecological context. The challenge stems partly from the complexity and fluidity of this social process, but also from its covert nature. One powerful tool to enhance experimental control over such dynamic social interactions has been the use of avatars in virtual reality (VR); information about an individual in such an interaction can be collected through the analysis of his or her neurophysiological and behavioral responses. We have developed a unique platform, the Empathy-Enhancing Virtual Evolving Environment (EEVEE), which is built around three main components: (1) different avatars capable of expressing feelings and emotions at various levels based on the Facial Action Coding System (FACS); (2) systems for measuring the physiological responses of the observer (heart and respiration rate, skin conductance, gaze and eye movements, facial expression); and (3) a multimodal interface linking the avatar's behavior to the observer's neurophysiological response. In this article, we provide a detailed description of the components of this innovative platform and validation data from the first phases of development. Our data show that healthy adults can discriminate different negative emotions, including pain, expressed by avatars at varying intensities. We also provide evidence that masking part of an avatar's face (top or bottom half) does not prevent the detection of different levels of pain. This innovative and flexible platform provides a unique tool to study and even modulate empathy in a comprehensive and ecological manner in various populations, notably individuals suffering from neurological or psychiatric disorders.

Emotional expression in psychiatric conditions: New technology for clinicians

“…We have tried to include the diagnostic and therapeutic methods that have been published in scientific journals, but the data, including quantitative and qualitative information, are limited, which causes an important drawback of this paper. For the summary of these methods see Table . What we can expect in the future is a rapid growth of use of modern technologies, such as VR, augmented reality, and interactive systems based on game consoles, in therapy enhancement.…”

“…There is growing data on applying virtual reality in cognitive behavioral therapy, especially exposure therapy in phobias and post‐traumatic stress disorder. In simpler forms, it is used to interact with patients on the basis of their expressed emotions; for example, to control their avatar in virtual reality (VR) or to interact with other created avatars . Facial emotion expression using VR systems is often based on FACS, but the software used in a VR environment can produce clinically reliable and valuable facial emotion expressions .…”

“…Facial emotion expression using VR systems is often based on FACS, but the software used in a VR environment can produce clinically reliable and valuable facial emotion expressions . VR systems may be designed to teach and improve social skills, enhance facial affect recognition, or to promote emotion expression or empathy learning . Further, it has been observed that there are no notable differences in reaction to a VR environment between typically developed individuals and children and adolescents with ASC .…”

Facial expression to emotional stimuli in non-psychotic disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis

“…Multidimensional systems such as the Empathy Enhancing Virtual Evolving Environment (Jackson et al, 2015) could be used to create specific emotional situations and at the same time measure emotional reactions on different levels (i.e. facial expression, psychophysiology, gaze dynamics) in a standardized manner.…”

ConVRgence (VRIC) Virtual Reality International Conference Proceedings

“…GSR have been used in cognitive rehabilitation as an indicator of presence (Lo Priore et al, 2003;. Jackson et al (2015) developed the Evolutive Virtual Environment for Empathy Improvement (EEVEE). It is based on three main components: (1) different avatars capable of expressing feelings and emotions in various levels based on the Facial Action Coding System (FACS); (2) systems to measure the observer's physiological responses (heart and respiratory rate, skin conductance, eye and eye movements, facial expression); and (3) a multimodal interface that links the behavior of the avatar with the neurophysiological response of the observer.…”