Branches Book

BRANCHES

1. Reflective Synthesis 2. Acting with Volition 3. Processing 4. Empathetic Responding

Performing traditional question-based surveys allowed researchers to quantitatively judge an individual’s perceived response to literature. However, with the introduction of innovative technologies, programs like the ARLS can be enhanced. This study seeks to expand both the number and depth of affective factors by adjusting the survey platform. Technologies like EMOTIV’s EPOC+ 16 Channel Mobile Electroencephalogram (EEG) allows for detailed studies of phenomenological neuropsychology. This study utilizes this mobile EEG to correlate literature to affective response. However, the sensitivity of the EEG allows for the study of six affective factors:

1. Interest 2. Engagement 3. Stress 4. Excitement 5. Focus 6. Relaxation

Comparison between responses will contrast both the entire data set, and smaller groupings of affective factors. For example, a correlation will be researched between stress and interest in addition to an overall correlation. If trends are established between the affective responses and the specific text, then a literary affective response analytical framework will be proposed. Proposed Analytical Framework: The proposed analytical framework will characterize the texts based on Digital Humanities, which is defined as, “an academic field concerned with the application of computational tools and methods to traditional humanities disciplines such as literature, history, and philosophy.” 2 Since its creation, Digital Humanities has revolutionized the quantitative analytical abilities of literature scholars. For the first time, literature was approached from a computational perspective, allowing scientist to quantify aspects of the text. This quantification of texts allows for unique experimentation where specific aspects of the text are analyzed mathematically, yielding quantitative results. Quantitative results will allow for the development of a numerical

247