Analysis of the "D'oh!" Moments. Physiological Markers of Performance in Cognitive Switching Tasks.

The link between the body and mind has fascinated philosophers and scientists for ages. The increasing availability of sensor technologies has enabled the possibility to explore this link even deeper, providing some evidence that certain physiological measurements such as galvanic skin response can have in the performance of different learning activities. In this paper, we explore the link between learners’ performance of cognitive tasks and their physiological state with the use of Multimodal Learning Analytics (MMLA). We used MMLA tools and techniques to collect, annotate, and analyse physiological data from 16 participants wearing an Empatica E4 wristband while engaging in task-switching cognitive exercises. The collected data include temperature, blood volume pulse, heart rate variability, galvanic skin response, and screen recording from each participant while performing the exercises. To examine the link between cognitive performance we applied a preliminary qualitative analysis to galvanic skin response and tested different Artificial Intelligence techniques to differentiate between productive and unproductive performance.