TIDE-UPF will present a paper at the 11th International Conference on Affective Computing and Intelligent Interaction (ACII), held in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, in September.

Batuhan Sayis, Marc Beardsley & Marta Portero-Tresserra, Multimodal assessment of best possible self as a self-regulatory activity for the classroom, 11th International Conference on Affective Computing and Intelligent Interaction, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, September 2023.

Abstract. Best possible self (BPS) is a positive psychological intervention shown to enhance well-being. Research has found positive effects of BPS in classroom settings. The aim of this study is to multimodally assess the effects of a brief BPS activity in a manner that enables a comparison with other self-regulation activities adapted for classroom use. The present study assesses the psychophysiological effects of BPS on student anxiety, affect (arousal and valence), and cardiac vagal activity as an indicator of self-regulatory resource usage. Thirty-three undergraduate students (18-25 years) participated in the within-subject design that collected self-report data (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, STAI; Affective Slider, AS), and physiological data (heart-rate variability, HRV) at three time periods (PRE, DURING, POST). This paper presents a comparison of two conditions: BPS and a control activity (NA) – watching an emotionally neutral video. Results show no overall difference in state anxiety and arousal measures between activities. However, BPS led to an increase in positive valence (DURING) and overall higher levels of cardiac vagal activity (measured by HRV) compared to NA. Findings support the notion that BPS has a self-regulatory effect on students. As BPS does not require expert knowledge nor specialized technology to administer, it may be a suitable activity for educators to use when teaching and having students practice self-regulation. This study presents evidence collected in a replicable multimodal approach of the self-regulatory effects of a brief BPS activity on undergraduate students.