arXiv subjects

Nadine Wagener

Publications and source records attributed to Nadine Wagener.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

TANDE: Disentangling Verbal and Nonverbal Backchannels in Emotional AI-Avatar Conversations with Young Adults

Embodied conversational agents (ECAs) need effective empathic grounding to foster social support and engagement. Expanding into emotional domains, ECAs now use Large Language Models (LLMs) and multimodal human-agent interactions to enhance their capabilities. Yet, understanding the impact of backchanneling modalities on young adults and their gender remains limited. We introduce TANDE, an LLM-powered ECA designed for emotional conversations with young adults, a population experiencing mental, personal, and social issues with limited tools to address them. In a within-subjects study with N=36 young adults, we explore nonverbal and combined verbal-and-nonverbal backchanneling modalities on rapport, empathy, and engagement and isolate for gender differences. Our research shows the importance of nuanced backchanneling cues with emotional ECAs with young adults, showing a preference for nonverbal cues. We derive design implications for more effective ECAs for emotional support and well-being in young adults. The code is available at https://github.com/Cornell-Tech-AIRLab/TANDE.

cs.HC↗

arXiv2026

Reflective Motion and a Physical Canvas: Exploring Embodied Journaling in Virtual Reality

In traditional journaling practices, authors express and process their thoughts by writing them down. We propose a somaesthetic-inspired alternative that uses the human body, rather than written words, as the medium of expression. We coin this embodied journaling, as people's isolated body movements and spoken words become the canvas of reflection. We implemented embodied journaling in virtual reality and conducted a within-subject user study (n=20) to explore the emergent behaviours from the process and to compare its expressive and reflective qualities to those of written journaling. When writing-based norms and affordances were absent, we found that participants defaulted towards unfiltered emotional expression, often forgoing words altogether. Rather, subconscious body motion and paralinguistic acoustic qualities unveiled deeper, sometimes hidden feelings, prompting reflection that happens after emotional expression rather than during it. We discuss both the capabilities and pitfalls of embodied journaling, ultimately challenging the idea that reflection culminates in linguistic reasoning.

cs.HC↗

arXiv2024

Mind Mansion: Exploring Metaphorical Interactions to Engage with Negative Thoughts in Virtual Reality

Recurrent negative thoughts can significantly disrupt daily life and contribute to negative emotional states. Facing, confronting, and noticing such thoughts without support can be challenging. To provide a playful setting and leverage the technical maturation of Virtual Reality (VR), our VR experience, Mind Mansion, places the user in an initially cluttered virtual apartment. Here we utilize established concepts from traditional therapy and metaphors identified in prior works to let users engage metaphorically with representations of thoughts, gradually sorting the space, fostering awareness of thoughts, and supporting mental self-care. The results of our user study (n = 30) reveal that Mind Mansion encourages the exploration of alternative perspectives, fosters acceptance, and potentially offers new coping mechanisms. Our findings suggest that this VR intervention can reduce negative affect and improve overall emotional awareness.

cs.HC↗