Our task was to define a set of variables that would allow us to calculate coarse emotion intensities for all emotion episodes that the Affective Reasoner was capable of representing. We constrained our task by specifying three discrete levels of intensity for each of the twenty-four emotion classes, giving us seventy-two different emotion/intensity duples that were to be represented. To test our representation we analyzed a number of different emotion episodes, as well as complete scenes, for their affective content, and used the emotion-intensity variables to represent the perceived causes of the different intensities, within the context of our emotion theory. Episodes were analyzed with respect to the way in which the intensity variables allowed us to map simulation-event features into values for the eliciting conditions of the different emotion types (see figure 1). Complete scenes were additionally analyzed for the ways in which affective states could be mapped to mood changes for the automated agents, using the intensity variables, so that the intensities of subsequent emotions would be correct for those agents. The present set of variables was sufficient to represent all of these episodes and scenes, at the Affective Reasoner's level of granularity.
The intensity model has not been implemented for all emotion types. Unsolved representational problems exist for some of the variables, such as surprisingness and deservingness. The functions that use the emotion intensity variables are in the early stages of development. Moreover, the cognitive correlates of the variables we have discussed interact, and they have cognitive import beyond that of emotion intensity. For example, a disturbance in what we have termed sense of reality might not only lower the intensity of person's emotions but could also affect which emotions are generated, given the same eliciting conditions (e.g., when audience members laugh at gruesome scenes in a horror movie). Because we represent intensity variables and emotion intensities as scalars our model is not able to address these phenomena. A more cognitively faithful representation would allow multidimensional intensity variables to affect each other in context dependent ways, and would use such variables in not only the determination of emotion intensity but also in the basic construal process responsible for the selection of the emotion types themselves. We consider our work to be only a preliminary effort.
(defun goal-relevant-intensity
(achieved-blocked
&key importance-achieving importance-not-blocking certainty
sense-of-reality temporal-proximity surprisingness
effort arousal physical-well-being importance-gsps
valence-bias valence-bias-strength
anxiety-invincibility anxiety-invincibility-strength
depression-ecstasy depression-ecstasy-strength)
(let ((emo-valence (if (> achieved-blocked 0) 'positive 'negative)))
(*
*goal-relevant-normalization*
achieved-blocked
(if (eql emo-valence 'positive)
(or importance-achieving *ia-default*)
(or importance-not-blocking *inb-default*))
(or certainty *certainty-default*)
(or sense-of-reality *sense-of-reality-default*)
(or temporal-proximity *temporal-proximity-default*)
(or surprisingness *surprisingness-default*)
(or effort *effort-default*)
(or arousal *arousal-default*)
(or physical-well-being *physical-well-being-default*)
(or importance-gsps *importance-gsps-default*)
(if valence-bias
(if (eql valence-bias emo-valence)
valence-bias-strength
(protect-divide 1 valence-bias-strength))
*valence-bias-default*)
(if anxiety-invincibility
(if (eql anxiety-invincibility emo-valence)
anxiety-invincibility-strength
(protect-divide 1 anxiety-invincibility-strength))
*anxiety-invincibility-default*)
(if depression-ecstasy
(if (eql depression-ecstasy emo-valence)
depression-ecstasy-strength
(protect-divide 1 depression-ecstasy-strength))
*depression-ecstasy-default*))))
Figure 2.
(defun fortunes-of-other-intensity
...
*fortunes-of-others-normalization*
friendship-animosity-strength
(or emotional-interrelatedness *emotional-interrelatedness-default*)
...
(if deservingness-undeservingness
(if (eql deservingness-undeservingness 'deserving)
(if (eql emo-valence 'positive)
deservingness-undeservingness-strength
(protect-divide 1 deservingness-undeservingness-strength))
(if (eql emo-valence 'negative) ;;; note: d/u = 'undeserving
deservingness-undeservingness-strength
(protect-divide 1 deservingness-undeservingness-strength))
)
*deservingness-undeservingness-default*)))
...
Figure 3.