Benjamin Ultan Cowley

University of Helsinki | HY · Faculty of Educational Sciences

Joint action coordination is a process that requires constant behavioral integration with others. Interbrain synchrony has been associated with performance gains in joint tasks, however, the role of different frequencies of interbrain synchrony in joint action coordination remains elusive. Here we describe a protocol to study the causal role of alp...

A competent leader can help to improve group performance, for example by helping group members to choose actions that reduce risk; however an incompetent leader can hurt performance and increase risk when group members follow uncritically. Recreational ski groups rarely have a formal leadership hierarchy. Here, we conducted a study to investigate s...

Estimating the slant of a snow-covered mountain slope is a difficult task. Human perception is tailored for accurate perception of cardinal orientations but is less precise for oblique angles. Indeed, previous studies found that humans overestimate the steepness of slopes (Proffitt et al., 1995, 2001). Accurate estimation of the slant of snow-cover...

Design of interventions to reduce the number of avalanche accidents requires a detailed and holistic understanding of how recreational backcountry riders assess the risks and conditions. This understanding must be built up from several key questions. Firstly, what information riders use to plan a tour, and what kind of avalanche assessments they ma...

Avalanches are a significant natural hazard that can lead to fatal outcomes for winter-sports enthusiasts. Our study provides a comprehensive analysis of causes of death in avalanche accidents. By systematically synthesizing data from studies across different regions and languages we clarify the proportions of, and factors influencing, these causes...

Sustained attention is a fundamental cognitive ability that in- fluences various aspects of human functioning. Studies of the neural correlates of attention commonly treat sustained atten- tion as an isolated construct, however in any ecological con- text, sustained attention interacts with other executive func- tions such as inhibition of interfer...

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is characterized by involuntary fluctuations of attention in continuous performance tasks (CPTs) wherein attention must be sustained over long periods of time. The neuronal basis underlying aberrant attentional fluctuations in time scales from seconds to minutes have remained poorly understood. Neuron...

Background The P3a response is thought to reflect involuntary orienting to an unexpected stimulus and has been connected with set-shifting and inhibition in some studies. In our exploratory study, we investigated if the amplitude and the latency of the P3a response were associated with the performance in a modified flanker task measuring inhibition...

Flow is a well-known construct describing the experience of deep absorption in a task, typically demanding but intrinsically motivating, and conducted with high skill. Flow is operationalized by self-report, and various instruments have been developed for this, but none have been made available in the Finnish language in thoroughly validated form....

NFB has a clear potential as a recognised treatment option for ADHD, but suffers from a lack of clarity about its efficacy, still unresolved after multiple controlled trials. Comparing learners and non-learners based on the evolution of patient-level indicators during the trial serves as a ‘natural’ control, and can help elucidate the mechanisms of...

Inter-brain synchronization during social interaction has been linked with several positive phenomena, including closeness, cooperation, prosociality, and team performance. However, the temporal dynamics of inter-brain synchronization during collaboration are not yet fully understood. Furthermore, with collaboration increasingly happening online, t...

In this chapter, we reflect on the deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) as a pedagogical and educational instrument and the challenges that arise to ensure transparency and fairness to staff and students . We describe a thought experiment: ‘simulation of AI in education as a massively multiplayer social online game’ (AIEd-MMOG). Here, all act...

Flow is the experience of deep absorption in a demanding, intrin-sically-motivating task conducted with skill. We consider how to measure behavioural correlates of flow from fine-grained process data extracted from programming environments. Specifically, we propose measuring affective factors related to flow non-intrusively based on log data. Prese...

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in adults is understudied, especially regarding neural mechanisms such as oscillatory control of attention sampling. We report an electroencephalography (EEG) study of such cortical mechanisms, in ADHD-diagnosed adults during administration of Test of Variables of Attention (TOVA), a gold-standard con...

In adults, music and speech share many neurocognitive functions, but how do they interact in a developing brain? We compared the effects of music and foreign language training on auditory neurocognition in Chinese children aged 8–11 years. We delivered group-based training programs in music and foreign language using a randomized controlled trial....

Neurofeedback for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has long been studied as an alternative to medication, promising non-invasive treatment with minimal side-effects and sustained outcome. However, debate continues over the efficacy of neurofeedback, partly because existing evidence for efficacy is mixed and often non-specific, with u...

Flow is an intrinsically motivating (i.e. ‘autotelic’) psychological state of complete absorption in moment-to-moment activity that can occur when one performs a task whose demands match one's skill-level. Flow theory proposes that Flow causally leads to better performance, but empirical evidence for this assumption is mixed. Recent evidence sugges...

In a novel experimental setting, we augmented a variation of traditional compassion meditation with our custom-built VR environment for multiple concurrent users. The presence of another user’s avatar in shared virtual space supports social interactions and provides an active target for evoked compassion. The system incorporates respiration and bra...

We report a psychometric scale validation study on a Finnish translation of the Flow Short Scale (FSS). Data from 200 Finnish speaking participants were collected via the Prolific Academic platform. To analyse the scale's factorial structure, we performed Mokken scale analysis, Parallel Analysis, Very Simple Structures analysis and a standard Confi...

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is characterized by a complex pattern of abnormalities in resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) and network dysfunction, which can potentially be ameliorated by rehabilitation. In our previous randomized controlled trial, we found that a 3-month neurological music therapy intervention enhanced executive function...

Players exhibit varying behaviour from each other when playing games. Indeed, a player's own behaviour will change as they learn to play and changing behaviour may also be indicative of when they are prematurely about to quit playing permanently (known as 'churn'). There can be many reasons for player churn including finding a game too easy, too ha...

In this Research Topic, High Performance Cognition (HPC) emerges as a generic term for the study of human performance and skill acquisition, from novices on an unfamiliar task (as most psychological experiments) to experts displaying superior levels of domain-specific skill. We received 11 pieces of empirical work across several experimental tasks...

General game-playing artificial intelligence (AI) has recently seen important advances due to the various techniques known as ‘deep learning’. However, in terms of human-computer interaction, the advances conceal a major limitation: these algorithms do not incorporate any sense of what human players find meaningful in games.

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in adults is understudied, especially regarding neural mechanisms such as oscillatory control of attention sampling. We report an EEG study of such cortical oscillations, in ADHD-diagnosed adults taking a continuous performance test that measures the ability to sustain attention and inhibit impulsivit...

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is characterized by a complex pattern of abnormalities in resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC), and neuropathology focused on network dysfunction. Here we report a fMRI study of brain network changes induced during a randomised controlled trial of neurological music therapy in 23 moderate/severe TBI patients. Ou...

Poker is a game of skill and chance involving economic decision-making under uncertainty. It is also a complex but well-defined real-world environment with a clear rule-structure. As such, poker has strong potential as a model system for studying high-stakes, high-risk expert performance. Poker has been increasingly used as a tool to study decision...

Physiological arousal can be a signal of attention, reflecting predictability and significance of stimuli or events. We explored temporal patterns in task-related physiological arousal and their connection to performance in repeated trials of a visuomotor steering task. Participants (N = 9) played a total of forty trials of a high-speed steering ta...

Flow is a state of “optimal experience” that arises when skill and task demands match. Flow has been well studied in psychology using a range of self-report and experimental methods; with most research typically focusing on how Flow is elicited by a particular task. Here, we focus on how the experience of Flow changes during task skill development....

Flow is a state of `optimal experience' that arises when skill and task demands match. Flow has been well studied in psychology using a range of self-report and experimental methods; with most research typically focusing on how Flow is elicited by a particular task. Here, we focus on how the experience of Flow changes during task skill development....

Abstract Sustained attention plays an important role in everyday life, for work, learning, or when affected by attention disorders. Studies of the neural correlates of attention commonly treat sustained attention as an isolated construct, measured with computerized continuous performance tests. However, in any ecological context, sustained attentio...

Existing tools for the preprocessing of EEG data provide a large choice of methods to suitably prepare and analyse a given dataset. Yet it remains a challenge for the average user to integrate methods for batch processing of the increasingly large datasets of modern research, and compare methods to choose an optimal approach across the many possibl...

Collaboration is a complex phenomenon, where intersubjective dynamics can greatly affect the productive outcome. Evaluation of collaboration is thus of great interest, and can potentially help achieve better outcomes and performance. However, quantitative measurement of collaboration is difficult, because much of the interaction occurs in the inter...

Serious games are interventions with potential for tackling pressing issues by raising awareness and inciting behaviour change. However, it is unclear which design choices maximise efficient production or intervention efficacy. For example, health games and games tackling social crises may have radically different audiences. Furthermore, players of...

Understanding and measuring sustained attention is important for basic research and applications. Measurement and testing with computerised continuous performance tests is common. When studying the neural correlates of attention, such tests aim to isolate the construct of sustained attention. However, in any ecologically-valid context, sustained at...

Understanding and measuring sustained attention is important for basic research and applications. Measurement and testing with computerised continuous performance tests is common. When studying the neural correlates of attention, such tests aim to isolate the construct of sustained attention. However, in any ecologically-valid context, sustained at...

Electroencephalography (EEG) is a rich source of information regarding brain function. However, the preprocessing of EEG data can be quite complicated, due to several factors. For example, the distinction between true neural sources and noise is indeterminate; EEG data can also be very large. The various factors create a large number of subjective...

Digital monitoring of physiological signals can allow computer systems to adapt unobtrusively to users, so as to enhance personalised ‘smart’ interactions. In recent years, physiological computing has grown as a research field, and it is increasingly considered in diverse applications, ranging from specialised work contexts to consumer electronics....

Brief overview of first stage results of pair programming physiology study

The application of psychophysiology in human-computer interaction is a growing field with significant potential for future smart personalised systems. Working in this emerging field requires comprehension of an array of physiological signals and analysis techniques. Respiration is unique among physiological signals in that it can be consciously con...

The application of psychophysiology in human-computer interaction is a growing field with significant potential for future smart personalised systems. Working in this emerging field requires comprehension of an array of physiological signals and analysis techniques. Methods to study central nervous system (CNS) are usually expensive and laborious....

The application of psychophysiology in human-computer interaction is a growing field with significant potential for future smart personalised systems. Working in this emerging field requires comprehension of an array of physiological signals and analysis techniques. Event-related potentials, termed ERPs, are a stimulus- or action-locked waveform in...

The application of psychophysiology in human-computer interaction is a growing field with significant potential for future smart personalised systems. Working in this emerging field requires comprehension of an array of physiological signals and analysis techniques. Electromyography (EMG)is a useful signal to estimate the emotional context of indiv...

Background: Recognition of objects and their context relies heavily on the integrated functioning of global and local visual processing, which has been linked to cortical hemispheric asymmetry. In a realistic setting such as work, this processing becomes a sustained activity, implying a consequent interaction with executive functions. Motivation: T...

The application of psychophysiology in human-computer interaction is a growing field with significant potential for future smart personalised systems. Working in this emerging field requires comprehension of an array of physiological signals and analysis techniques. One of the most widely used signals is electrodermal activity, or EDA, also known a...

We present the last in a series of three academic essays which deal with the question of how and why to build a generalized player model. We propose that a general player model needs parameters for subjective experience of play, including: player psychology, game structure, and actions of play. Based on this proposition, we pose three linked resear...

It is known that periods of intense social interaction result in shared patterns in collaborators’ physiological signals. However, applied quantitative research on collaboration is hindered due to scarcity of objective metrics of teamwork effectiveness. Indeed, especially in the domain of productive, ecologically-valid activity such as programming,...

Report on EDA data recorded in the measurements. Information on four (two dyads) successful EDA recordings in the paradigm. Appendix exemplifies the potential in using EDA signals for compliance assessment in field studies. (PDF)

EDA results from example dyads. (TIF)

Example script and questionnaire data. Scripts for replicating the results. (ZIP)

Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is the most common cause of inherited intellectual disability and a variant of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The FXS population is quite heterogeneous with respect to comorbidities, which implies the need for a personalized medicine approach, relying on biomarkers or endophenotypes to guide treatment. There is evidence th...

EEG is a rich source of information regarding brain functioning, and is the most lightweight and affordable method of brain imaging. However, the pre-processing of EEG data is quite complicated and most existing tools present the experimenter with a large choice of methods for analysis, but no framework for method comparison to choose an optimal ap...

As player demographics broaden it has become important to understand variation in player types. Improved player models can help game designers create games that accommodate a range of playing styles, and may also facilitate the design of systems that detect the currently-expressed player type and adapt dynamically in real-time. Existing approaches...

General game playing artificial intelligence has recently seen important advances due to the various techniques known as 'deep learning'. However the advances conceal equally important limitations in their reliance on: massive data sets; fortuitously constructed problems; and absence of any human-level complexity, including other human opponents. O...

Background: We report a randomized controlled clinical trial of neurofeedback therapy intervention for ADHD/ADD in adults. We focus on internal mechanics of neurofeedback learning, to elucidate the primary role of cortical self-regulation in neurofeedback. We report initial results; more extensive analysis will follow. Methods: Trial has two phases...

We present the first in a series of three academic essays which deal with the question of how to build a generalized player model. We begin with a proposition: a general model of players requires parameters for the subjective experience of play, including at least: player psychology, game structure, and actions of play. Based on this proposition, w...

We present the second in a series of three academic essays which deal with the question of how to build a generalized player model. We begin with a proposition: a general model of players requires parameters for the subjective experience of play, including at least three areas: a) player psychology, b) game structure, and c) actions of play. Based...

Background: Recognition of objects and their context relies heavily on the integrated functioning of global and local visual processing. In a realistic setting such as work, this processing becomes a sustained activity, implying a consequent interaction with executive functions. Motivation: There have been many studies of either global-local attent...

I Kivikangas, J. M., Chanel, G., Cowley, B., Ekman, I., Salminen, M., Järvelä, S., & Ravaja, N. (2011). A review of the use of psychophysiological methods in game research. Journal of Gaming and Virtual Worlds, 3(3), 181–199. II Kivikangas, J. M. (in press). Affect channel model of evaluation in the context of digital games. In G. Yannakakis and K....

Supporting material for the game Green My Place

Supporting material for the game Green My Place

Supporting material for the game Green My Place

Appendix I covers much of the core game idea with much less content than D3.6.

D3.6 is the Green My Place design document. It is a great example of HOW NOT TO WRITE A DESIGN DOC! It is way too long, filled with text, and was developed over several iterations so that it rambles and is hard to follow, not having been written all at once. Its main function was to satisfy the project management, who liked long documents.

Appendix IV is a complete guide to the metagame scoring system.

D5.1 is written to allow an engineer unfamiliar with the project to pick up the fundamentals of the system without having to learn by trial and error. Since the source code is no longer available, this is included merely for reference.

Digital monitoring of physiological signals can allow computer systems to adapt unobtrusively to users, so as to enhance personalised ‘smart’ interactions. In recent years, physiological computing has grown as a research field, and it is increasingly considered in diverse applications, ranging from specialised work contexts to consumer electronics....

The psychophysiological method can be used to detect some simple cognitive states such as arousal, attentiveness, or mental workload. This approach can be especially interesting when cognition has some productive purpose, as in knowledge work, and tends to be related to human-computer interaction (HCI). However more interesting for applied purposes...

The psychophysiological method can be used to detect some simple cognitive states such as arousal, attentiveness, or mental workload. This approach can be especially interesting when cognition has some productive purpose, as in knowledge work, and tends to be related to human-computer interaction (HCI). However more interesting for applied purposes...

Electrodermal activity is an indicator of sympathetic activation and a useful tool for investigating psychological and physiological arousal. Novel wearable skin conductivity sensors offer portable low-cost solutions for long-term monitoring. In this article we compare the similarity of signals between a prototype of the wearable Moodmetric EDA Rin...

Measurements of autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity using cardiac and electrodermal activity (EDA) are widely used as indicators of cognitive and affective regulatory activity. Cardiac activity is mediated prominently by the para-sympathetic and sympathetic branches, whereas EDA is regulated only by sympathetic nervous activity. Cortical regula...

We report on a study which explores the phenomenon of fronto-parietal hemispheric asymmetry in electrography of cortical activity. As reported in the literature, such asymmetry may reflect: valence of emotion, direction of motivation, focality of attention paid toward hierarchically organised stimuli, or semantic value of the stimulus. Thus we atte...

We investigate the role in visual attention of inter-hemispheric signalling and the saliency network, using two novel Event-Related Potential (ERP) paradigms, with data recorded from the 128-point electroencephalogram (EEG) of adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) patients and healthy control group comparison. The first protocol use...