'Affective computing' is a branch of computing concerned with the theory and construction of machines which can detect, respond to, and simulate human emotional states. It is an interdisciplinary field spanning the computer sciences, psychology, and cognitive science. Affective computing is a rapidly developing field within industry and science. There is now a great drive to make technologies such as robotic systems, avatars in service-related human computer interaction, e-learning, game characters, or companion devices more marketable by endowing the 'soulless' robots or agents with the...

This book describes a large-scale, cross-cultural study of emotional experience and emotional reaction which was conducted in Israel and seven European countries: the UK, West Germany, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, and Spain. Until the publication of this book in 1986, most research on emotion has been conducted under laboratory conditions, but the contributors to this study used a questionnaire approach to gather material covering a wide range of topics. Do certain situations elicit emotion-specific responses? Do emotion-specific symptom and reaction patterns exist? Do the common...