Mood-tracking app paves way for pocket therapy

An Android app which keeps tabs on users’ mood swings and works out what might be causing them has been developed by researchers, with implications for psychological therapy and improving well-being.

Behind the scenes, smartphones are constantly collecting data that can turn them into a key medical and psychological tool.
- Neal Lathia

A smartphone app that tracks people’s feelings and works out what might be triggering peaks in their mood, using the data invisibly captured by their phones, has been developed by researchers.

The free app, called “Emotion Sense” has just been launched and is available for Android. It takes advantage of the fact that smartphones are increasingly capable of collecting information about where we are, how noisy our environment is, how much we are moving around, and who we communicate with.

Read the full story


Image:  The Emotion Sense app asks users to record their feelings on a chart designed by psychologists, then surveys them further to assess their mood accurately. This is cross-referred with data about their behaviour, picked up by sensors within the phone itself

Credit: Neal Lathia, University of Cambridge Computer Lab



Reproduced courtesy of the University of Cambridge
__________________________________________



Looking for something specific?