Glossary // Glossary term Technical
Reverse inference
Reasoning from an observed signal back to a mental state, for example concluding that a person is angry because they scowl or afraid because a particular brain region is active. Such reasoning is justified only to the extent that the signal is specific to that state; if the same signal also occurs with other states, the inference is weak. Reviews of facial movement and autonomic data found that this specificity is generally low for emotion categories. Affective computing promises to infer emotion as if it were a system metric. The evidence on facial movements and autonomic signals, together with questions of consent, explains why every metric in this artifact is an artistic value. How one could reason about recording a catharsis-like change of state: signals, features, inference and context, baselines, self-report, error costs and ethics, and why every step stays uncertain. Nothing on this site measures anyone. The works the definition rests on, with the level of evidence each was appraised at. (2019). Emotional expressions reconsidered: Challenges to inferring emotion from human facial movements. doi:10.1177/1529100619832930 Supports the claim that facial configurations are not reliable, specific indicators of emotional states across cultures, situations and people, although they co-occur above chance. A narrative review by authors associated with one theoretical position; critics dispute parts of it. (2018). Emotion fingerprints or emotion populations? A meta-analytic investigation of autonomic features of emotion categories. doi:10.1037/bul0000128 Supports the claim that autonomic effect-size patterns did not clearly distinguish one emotion category from another and varied substantially within categories. Laboratory inductions; the interpretation favours one theory of emotion.Where the site uses it
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