Missions

Emotions influence a wide range of social, cognitive and emotional skills. However, measuring what people feel can prove challenging, especially for children. New technologies provide new opportunities that may help to solve this issue. Indeed, there is growing evidence that thermal imaging could serve as a tool for measuring emotions in a non-invasive, contact-free way, that does not require verbal communication (Ioannou, Gallese, & Merla, 2014). Thermal infrared imaging uses the body's naturally emitted thermal irradiation to provide a measure of cutaneous temperature. Changes in cutaneous temperature in specific facial regions can be associated with changes in emotional state (Ioannou et al., 2014).
The mission for this position will be to empirically validate the use of thermal imaging to measure emotions in children aged 8-10 years. This mission will take place in two stages. The first stage will focus on creating a set of video stimuli from children's cartoons to induce emotions in children. The second stage will involve using these video stimuli to test the reliability of the thermal camera in detecting emotions in children. To do this, thermal images will be combined with behavioural and subjective measures of the child's emotions.
This mission is part of an ANR-funded project on the contribution of thermal imaging to the study of the emotional mechanisms underlying early social evaluation.

Activities

The person recruited will be responsible for data collection and analysis:
-Conducting a systematic literature review.
-Obtaining the necessary authorisations for data collection.
-Recruiting participants.
-Establishing experimental protocols and creating the material and documents necessary for data collection.
-Collecting data both in schools and at the Babylab in Toulouse.
-Performing statistical analysis of the data.
(An engineer could be recruited to assist with the analysis of thermal images.)

Skills

- Candidate profile:
Degree: doctorate

Skills/knowledge
- General knowledge of developmental psychology/emotional sciences.
- In-depth knowledge of emotion induction and measurement (physiological, behavioural, and subjective) in children.
- Significant involvement and expertise in recruiting child participants.
- Experience in conducting tests with children and their families.
- Experience in setting up experimental protocols and collecting and analysing experimental data.
- Knowledge of or interest in using new technologies for measuring emotion.
- Proficiency in statistical analysis.
- Knowledge of thermal imaging would be welcome.

Soft skills
- High level of commitment to the project, reliability, and scientific rigor.
- Ease and patience in working with children and their families.
- Ability to work collaboratively with the various members of the project team.

Work Context

The project will be carried out within the “Processus Langagiers & Cognitifs ” team at the CLLE (Cognition, Langues, Langage, Ergonomie) laboratory. The CLLE laboratory is a CNRS joint research unit created in January 2007 and mainly based at Toulouse Jean-Jaurès University. It comprises three research teams. It is a multidisciplinary research unit in the field of cognitive science: the work carried out there covers the fields of linguistics, psychology, computer science, philosophy, education, and neuroscience, to varying degrees.

Researchers at the CLLE laboratory have access to the “Cognition, Comportements et Usages“ (CCU) technology platform dedicated to the study of human cognitive behavior in various situations through physiological and psychological responses. The platform is hosted by the MSHS-T located at the Maison de la Recherche at Toulouse Jean-Jaurès University.
The research project will draw on the various tools available on the CCU technology platform. This platform includes a Babylab, making it an ideal, safe, and suitable place for studying children. Working meetings (mainly via videoconference) will also be held with project collaborators from the PsyCLE Center (Aix-Marseille University).

A computer will be made available to the person recruited in order to carry out the duties associated with the position, for the duration of the contract.

Constraints and risks

Part of the data collection will take place at the Babylab in Toulouse (CCU platform, MSHS-T), and part will require travel to schools, activity centres, etc. Data collection at the Babylab may take place on Saturdays.