HappinessCounter: smile-encouraging appliance to increase positive mood

Authors:
Hitomi Tsujita;Jun Rekimoto
Affiliations:
Graduate School of Humanities and Sciences Ochanomizu University, Tokyo, Japan;Interfaculty Initiative in Information Studies The University of Tokyo & Interaction Laboratory Sony Computer Science Laboratories, Inc., Tokyo, Japan
Venue:
CHI '11 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems
Year:
2011

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Abstract

As William James stated, and confirmed by several psychological studies, the act of smiling positively affects on our mental status -- we become happier when we laugh. In this paper, we propose a new digital appliance that naturally encourages the act of smiling in our daily lives. This system is designed mainly for people living alone, who may have difficulty realizing when they are in low spirits andor difficulty in making themselves smile. Our HappinessCounter combines visual smile recognition, user feedback, and network communication. We installed this system in a home with a single occupant, and the system had positive effects on the user's mood.