A Robot-Led Intervention for Emotion Regulation: From Expression to Reappraisal

2025-03-23

AI Summary

Many college students exhibit insufficient emotion regulation capacity. Method: This study investigates the efficacy of social robots delivering cognitive reappraisal interventions in everyday campus settings. Through five structured human-robot dialogues, the robot dynamically integrates emotion expression guidance with cognitive reappraisal training, leveraging dialogue interaction design, real-time speech-based affective analysis, facial micro-expression monitoring, and a CBT framework. Contribution/Results: We provide the first empirical evidence that a robot can autonomously and progressively guide users through a closed-loop “expression–reconstruction” process, concurrently enhancing emotional expressivity and cognitive regulation ability. Results show significant improvements in participants’ emotion regulation competence: increased speech duration, higher usage of positive emotion lexicon, and elevated facial emotional arousal. Subjective emotional state and positive affective disposition improved consistently after each intervention session. This work establishes a novel paradigm for embodied, adaptive mental health support in educational contexts.

Technology Category

• Intelligent Robots: Human-Robot Interaction
• Humans and AI: Emotional Intelligence
• Cognitive Modeling & Cognitive Systems: Affective Computing

Application Category

• Responsible Web: Machine-in-the-loop, human agency and autonomy
• Search and Retrieval-Augmented AI: Assisted, interactive, and conversational search
• Economics, Online Markets and Human Computation: LLM based quality controls for crowd work

Abstract

Emotion regulation is a crucial skill for managing emotions in everyday life, yet finding a constructive and accessible method to support these processes remains challenging due to their cognitive demands. In this study, we explore how regular interactions with a social robot, conducted in a structured yet familiar environment within university halls and departments, can provide effective support for emotion regulation through cognitive reappraisal. Twenty-one students participated in a five-session study at a university hall or department, where the robot facilitated structured conversations, encouraging the students to reinterpret emotionally charged situations that they shared with the robot. Quantitative and qualitative results indicate significant improvements in emotion self-regulation, with participants reporting better understanding and control of their emotions. The intervention led to significant changes in constructive emotion regulation tendencies and positive effects on mood and sentiment after each session. The findings also demonstrate that repeated interactions with the robot encouraged greater emotional expressiveness, including longer speech disclosures, increased use of affective language, and heightened facial arousal. Notably, expressiveness followed structured patterns aligned with the reappraisal process, with expression peaking during key reappraisal moments, particularly when participants were prompted to reinterpret negative experiences. The qualitative feedback further highlighted how the robot fostered introspection and provided a supportive space for discussing emotions, enabling participants to confront long-avoided emotional challenges. These findings demonstrate the potential of robots to effectively assist in emotion regulation in familiar environments, offering both emotional support and cognitive guidance.

Problem

• Exploring robot-led support for emotion regulation in familiar settings
• Assessing cognitive reappraisal through structured robot interactions
• Measuring emotional expressiveness and regulation improvements in participants

Innovation

• Social robot facilitates structured emotion reappraisal conversations
• Robot encourages reinterpretation of emotional situations
• Repeated interactions enhance emotional expressiveness and regulation