A Tool for Research on Emotion in Naturally Occurring Speech

 描述（由申请人提供）：一个工具，研究情绪在自然表达的讲话。现在人们普遍认为，情绪处理的缺陷或限制是许多疾病的基础，如焦虑、抑郁、躁郁症和饮食失调。如果能找到情绪的生物行为标记，研究人员就有了研究正常精神功能和各种精神障碍中情绪的基础。情绪在癌症和其他疾病患者经历中的作用也越来越引起研究人员的兴趣。这个第一阶段的STTR项目的目的是展示开发一个工具的可行性，自然发生的语音情感的研究。它建立在申请小企业（Converspeech）和申请研究组织（斯坦福大学）已经完成的工作基础上。它将整合两个现有的原型程序：一个是识别自然发生的语音中的情感，另一个是根据说话者和听者的情感分析语言。所有的分析都是为了尊重情绪处理的个体差异。拟议的项目可以使用两年来从个人和夫妇互动中收集的高质量视频和音频记录。该项目有两个具体目标：具体目标1。建立一个软件工具，允许声学和语言分析集成在自然发生的语音情感的研究。具体目标2。在工具中嵌入语音和情感的综合声学和语言分析，为研究人员提供灵活的选择，以进行新的声学和语言分析。可行性将通过使用集成的原型工具来确定，以重现我们最近对六名参与者进行的声学和语言研究（具有可比结果），以增加四到十名参与者。此外，还将纳入至少一个新的声学特征、一个其他分类模型和其他语言分析，并对其进行功能测试。新的语言分析将使用我们的两位情感顾问提供的50个新注释进行评估，他们都进行情感研究。他们还将在有声思维协议之后对集成的扩展原型进行演练。

 DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): A Tool for Research on Emotion in Naturally Occurring Speech. It is now widely accepted that defects or limitations in emotion processing underlie many disorders such as anxiety, depression, bipolar and eating disorders. If bio-behavioral markers of emotions could be found, researchers would have the basis for investigating emotions in both normal mental functioning and in a wide range of mental disorders. The role of emotion in the experience of patients with cancer and other illnesses is also of growing interest to researchers. The aim of this Phase I STTR project is to show the feasibility of developing a tool for research on emotion in naturally occurring speech. It builds o work already done by the applicant small business (Converspeech) and the applicant research organization (Stanford University). It will integrate two existing prototype programs: one that recognizes emotions in naturally occurring speech and another that analyzes language in terms of the emotions of both speaker and listener. All analyses are designed to respect individual differences in emotion processing. High-quality video and audio recordings collected from individuals and couples in interaction over two years are available to the proposed project. The project has two Specific Aims: Specific Aim 1. Build a software tool that permits acoustic and language analysis to be integrated for the study of emotion in naturally occurring speech. Specific Aim 2. Embed integrated acoustic and language analysis of speech and emotion in a tool that offers flexible choices to the researcher for new kinds of acoustic and language analysis. Feasibility will be established by using the integrated prototype tool to reproduce our recent acoustic and language study conducted on six participants (with comparable results) for four to ten additional participants. In addition, at least one new acoustic feature, one other classification model, and additional language analysis will be incorporated and tested for functionality. New language analysis will be evaluated using 50 new annotations provided by our two emotion consultants, both of whom conduct research in emotion. They will also perform a walk-through of the integrated extended prototype following a think-aloud protocol.