An Interface with computer-generated facial expressions as an alternative for mood self-reports in an EMA context.

The described approach investigates the use of computer-generated synthetic facial expressions for providing mood self-reports. 37 participants tracked their mood over a period of 2 weeks with a facial expression-based scale and a VAS scale and were prompted to report their mood 5 times per day in at semi-fixed intervals. The outcome identifies a positive correlation of r=.86 between assessments provided with both scales. Highlights and implications of the use of facial expression-based scales are discussed.