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The goal of this research is to identify key affective body gestures that can clearly convey four emotions, namely happy, content, bored, and frustrated, in animated characters that lack facial features. Two studies were conducted, a first to identify affective body gestures from a series of videos, and a second to validate the gestures as representative of the four emotions. Videos were created using motion capture data of four actors portraying the four targeted emotions and mapping the data to two 3D character models, one male and one female. In the first study the researcher identified body gestures that are commonly produced by individuals when they experience each of the four emotions being tested. Each body gesture was then annotated with descriptions of the movements using the FABO database. In the second study the researcher tested four sets of identified body gestures, one set for each emotion. The animated gestures were mapped to the 3D character models and 91 participants were asked to identify the emotional state conveyed by the characters through the body gestures. The participants were also asked to rate intensity, typicality, and sincerity for each emotion using a 5-point Likert scale. The study identified six gestures that were shown to have an acceptable recognition rate of at least 80% for three of the four emotions tested. Content was the only emotion which was not conveyed clearly by the identified body gestures. The gender of the character and the participants’ age were found to have a significant effect on recognition rates for the emotions.

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Two studies were conducted to compare the efficacy of two behavioral prompts in increasing safety-belt use. Two approaches were used in both studies. The first approach involved showing a sign with the message, "Please Buckle Up, I Care" to unbuckled drivers leaving a parking lot; the second involved displaying the nationwide slogan "Click it or Ticket" (CioT). Participants were 1,822 unbuckled drivers exiting two student parking lots of a large university. Research assistants identified an unbuckled driver, flashed one of two signs, and recorded whether the driver buckled after the prompt, as well as the driver's facial reactions and hand gestures. Of the unbuckled drivers, 34% buckled following the Flash-for-Life (FfL) prompt, and 26% with the CioT prompt (p < .05). Drivers gave significantly more positive facial expressions and hand gestures following FfL vs. CioT prompt (p < .05). The second study used a variation of the procedures in Study I and implemented the intervention at a large department store. Driver age was measured with the previous driver variables. Participants were 1,990 unbuckled drivers exiting a parking lot. Results showed no significant differences in terms of compliance to signs (20.8% for FfL and 20.4% for CioT, p's > .05). Significant differences in hand gestures, facial expressions and ages were detected as a function of compliance, regardless of sign (all p's < .001). Specifically, drivers who complied with either prompt were more likely to be younger, and present positive hand gestures and facial expressions. Implications and future directions are discussed. / Master of Science

Learning to read body language is something we do throughout our whole life. It is a complex non-verbal language that can express more than words. In this study we investigate the possibility to use only body language to portray emotions to the viewer. In a background of a game project we have used a character that has his face covered, therefore, facial expression is not visible during the online survey, which we used as a method for our investigation. As a foundation we have created four character animations to portray anger, frustration, exhaustion and hurt. To find the answer if it is possible to recognize those five emotions in the character animations survey, participants were obligated to name the emotion expressed on each of the video clips. The results of this study show that the characters body language could be sufficient to portray those five emotions. However, it was concluded that body language could be enough to represent the character's emotional state to the viewer; but by including facial expressions we could help to portray the emotion even further.

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Orientador: Suely Master / Coorientador: Thomas Holesgrove / Banca: laura Martz / Banca: Lilian Vilela / Resumo: Atualmente há uma preocupação em não dissociar corpo e voz na formação e preparação do ator. Motivada pelos ensinamentos e nomenclaturas da Coreologia de Laban, a presente pesquisa revela uma proposta de experimentação VOZ-CORPO, mostra a possibilidade do ator acessar um vocabulário vasto e versátil baseado nos fatores de movimento e ações básicas de esforço, com o propósito de ampliar as possibilidades expressivas de forma concreta e consciente, o que chamamos aqui de repertório vocal. Objetivo: Verificar a validade da proposta VOZ-CORPO EM MOVIMENTO em ampliar o repertório vocal do ator. Método: 22 estudantes de artes cênicas vivenciaram o processo denominado VOZ-CORPO EM MOVIMENTO em 6 encontros. Foi aplicado questionário pré e pós processo com os tópicos: descrição de voz; descrição do repertório vocal e julgamento de como corpo influencia a voz. Os questionários foram analisados qualitativamente, pareados individualmente quanto às percepções pré e pós processo e categorizados por análise de conteúdo. Resultados: os atores antes dos 6 encontros, tiveram duas tendências claras de respostas: dificuldade em descrever suas próprias vozes e queixas quanto a escassez de possibilidades vocais, mesmo para os que relataram ter trabalhado suas vozes em aulas de canto. A maioria compreendia que o corpo influencia na voz apenas em relação à postura corporal. No pós processo VOZ-CORPO EM MOVIMENTO os alunos-atores relataram repertório vocal ampliado; apropriaram-se de termos para voz,... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: Currently there is a concern to not separate body and voice in the training and preparation of the actor. Inspired by the teaching and nomenclature of Laban's Choreology, this research outlines a proposal for voice-body experimentation, and demonstrates the possibility for the actor to access a vast and versatile vocabulary based on the effort factors and the effort actions, with the objective of expanding expressive possibilities in a concrete and conscious manner, which we will call here "vocal repertory". Objective: Investigate the self-perception of the vocal repertory within the body-voice experimentation process, associated with the concepts of Laban: "Voice in Movement". Method: 22 dramatic arts students participated in the process denominated "Voice-body in Movement", over 6 sessions. A questionnaire was given pre and post process with the topics: voice classification, description of the vocal repertory and evaluation of how the body influences the voice. The questionnaires were analyzed qualitatively, individually paired for pre and post perceptions. Results: Before the 6 sessions, the actors showed two clear tendencies in their answers: difficulty in describing their own voices and complaints about the scarcity of vocal possibilities, even those who said that they had previously worked with their voices in singing lessons. The majority understood that the body influenced the voice, but only in relation to posture. After the "Voice in Movement" process, the student a... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

Título original: O corpo como escrita da memória : (re)existências africanas na capoeira / Orientador: Maria Rosa Rodrigues Martins de Camargo / Banca: Dagoberto José Fonseca / Banca: Letícia Vidor de Sousa Reis / Resumo: Este trabalho busca cartografar as (re)existências africanas na cultura da capoeira, tendo como objeto de estudo os fundamentos e a linguagem corporal no ritual da roda. A capoeira, como uma manifestação cultural de tradição negra, incorpora símbolos, cosmologias e ontologias dos povos da diáspora africana. Os povos de matriz africana, que se reterritorializaram em terras brasileiras, reconstituíram suas visões de mundo e desenharam suas formas de conhecimento por meio da escrita do corpo, entrecruzando nos movimentos e nos ritmos, saberes riscados pelas epistemologias das macumbas. Partindo do plano de imanência da Filosofia Afroperspectivista, e incorporando a perspectiva do cruzo entre as minhas experiências como capoeira, a base conceitual de obras de referências, o acervo documental de músicas, fotografias e vídeos, busquei cartografar no jogo de corpo de mandinga e nos ritos da roda de capoeira, a visibilidade das (re)existências africanas que coreografam saberes por meio de práticas de encantes, que reafirmam, entre as dobras das epistemes vigentes, um modo particular de ser e estar no mundo / Abstract: This work aims to cartograph the african (re)existences into the capoeira culture, having as object of study the fundaments and the body language from the rodas de capoeira. Capoeira is a cultural manifestation derived from a black culture tradition and as such, incorporates symbols, cosmologies and ontologies from the people of the african diaspora. The people of the african roots that reterritorialized in brazilian lands, reconstituted their world vision and designed their forms of knowledge through their body writings, crisscrossing into the rhythms and movements, wisdoms scratched by the epistemology of the macumbas. Starting from the imanence plan on the afroperspectivist philosophy and incorporating the perspective of the crossing amongst my experiences as a capoeirista, the conceptual basis of the reference works, the music, photography and video documental archives, I've searched to cartograph the mandinga body set and the rites of the rodas de capoeira for a visibility of the african (re)existences that coreograph knowledges through the enchants that reaffirm, between the bends of the current epistemes, a particular way of being in the world / Mestre

Gestures have been found to be helpful to people in many cognitive and daily activities, such as speaking, counting, learning, and problem solving. However, different gestures benefit people to different degrees, and people use gestures in different ways to assist thinking and learning. From an embodied cognition perspective, gesture is seen as a simulated action. Therefore, to further understand the mechanisms of gesture’s effects on thinking will directly help us harness embodied cognition theories to guide teaching and learning. In the literature, it is widely known that gesture not only reflects thinking, but also actively promotes thinking and learning. However, the mechanisms that account for gesture’s effects on cognition remained obscure to us. To better understand how different types of gestures benefit thinking and learning, Study 1 was conducted with 31 participants to investigate how teaching big (n=15) and small gestures (n=16) as a problem solving strategy influenced the actual gesture use and performance. The results suggested that the small gesture might possibly be a more effective gesture, because people who were taught small and used small gestures had the highest accuracy percentage on the primary task. However, using the small gesture did not significantly lower cognitive load compared to using the big gesture. Based on these findings, Study 2 was conducted with 100 adults to further investigate how teaching different types of gestures influenced learners’ gesture use, performance, learning, and cognitive load. In this study, the participants were randomly assigned to three groups, where they were taught to solve a molecular structure problem using small (n=25), big (n=50), or no gestures (n=25). Then they were left in a quiet room to solve 15 molecule questions independently. Their answers and time spent on each question were recorded. A dual-task paradigm was used as an objective measure of cognitive load, and a NASA Questionnaire was used as a subjective measure of cognitive load. At the end, participants were asked to answer some transfer questions. Throughout the study, all participants’ gestures and body movements were recorded by two cameras. The findings from the two studies suggested that teaching different types of gestures had some influence on people’s gesture use, performance, learning, and cognitive load. Specifically, small gestures taught as a problem-solving strategy were adopted more easily and more effectively used than big gestures and body movements. Questions that were answered through small gestures seemed to have a slightly higher accuracy percentage, but were not necessarily related to lowered cognitive load. The study also found that when people were taught gesture as a problem solving strategy and then asked to use it, they took some time at the very beginning to try and practice, and then gradually transitioned to using no gestures. In both studies, their thinking time, gesture time, gesturing density decreased gradually, without sacrificing accuracy. These findings contributed to both embodied cognition theories and gesture literature, and also shed light on instructional design in an educational setting.

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