Reflecting on Mood and Movement

We are developing a system for self-reflection and mood monitoring ultimately focused on the treatment and clinical management of depression. We plan to analyze movement sensor data to infer internal, mood states from individuals’ externally-observable behavior, and then present this as feedback to help individuals develop a greater awareness of their moods throughout the day. Coupled with in situ experience sampling, we hope to stimulate reflection with informed self-analysis, helping people with depression become more aware of the changes in their mood states, and giving therapists a more complete picture of the status of their patient's mood in real-time. By better understanding their moods, individuals and their therapists can hopefully monitor how the individuals are responding to treatment and can detect relapses at an early stage allowing for a more effective therapeutic intervention.