Stress is a normal factor in everyday life. Everyone did and will experience stress and it is of vital importance to create appropriate strategies to learn how to cope with this emotional response, often due to unforeseeable events. Although stress is normally associated with adulthood, the presence of stressors in childhood should not be ignored. This thesis approaches how to address these problems in children and how to provide them with coping mechanisms that guide the children trough a process of self discovery in which they learn about their stress levels by playing. The scientific research conducted explored firstly the existing literature about design for wellbeing and design for mood regulation, than the psychology of stress as a general concept, what causes it, how is it processed and what are its consequences. Furthermore, the research moved towards specific groups that normally encounter more emotional instability given a pre-existing condition. The groups studied were children with ASD and children with hearing impairment. Finally, the teaching method of Montessori was analysed as an inspiration for the project. The Montessori method enables children to learn by using multi-sensorial materials, thus allowing the children to gain knowledge by themselves. A market research was also performed to understand how new devices able to detect physiological data are getting space on the market. The growth and the main uses of these devices were analysed both in general terms and in relation to stress detection. The market research concluded that it is possible to use sensors to detect stress and that there are many possibilities for product design to act upon the data collected. The design process was focused on exploring, through rapid prototyping, the possibility to indicate children their own emotional stability and guiding them during their coping process with sensorial stimuli. The aim was to create a modular system that could be personalised for each child, according to their own needs and preferences. The system has a main module that is responsible to translate the data of the sensors into visual input and it is also the main battery provider to the other modules. The system is complemented by (i) a smell module that is able to provide aromatherapy when activated by pressure sensors, (ii) a touch module that provides haptic stimuli when perceives movement, and (iii) an audio module that is activated by a specific movement. The system gradually changes the light input shown to the child when, during the use, the child calms down. In conclusion, the design of this new system represents an experimentation focused on the deployment of new technologies to enhance objects and to enhance our capability of understanding and learning more about ourselves. It is about autonomy, discovery and empowerment of the children, increasing life quality in childhood to guarantee an improved emotional response to stress factors also in the future.
Lo stress è un fattore che influenza ciascuno di noi nella vita di tutti i giorni. E’ dunque di vitale importanza sviluppare strategie appropriate per imparare come affrontare questa risposta emozionale, spesso dovuta a eventi non prevedibili. Sebbene lo stress sia normalmente associato all'età adulta, la presenza di fattori di stress nell'infanzia non deve essere ignorata. L’obbiettivo di questa tesi è di affrontare questi problemi nei bambini, identificando come fornire loro strumenti di difesa e guidandoli in un processo di scoperta di se stessi in cui possano imparare giocando. La ricerca scientifica condotta ha esplorato in primo luogo la letteratura esistente sul design per il benessere e il design per la regolazione dell'umore, sul concetto generale di psicologia dello stress, cosa lo causa, come viene elaborato e quali sono le sue conseguenze. La ricerca si è poi focalizzata su gruppi specifici che normalmente incontrano maggiore instabilità emotiva a causa di una condizione preesistente. In particolare, i gruppi studiati sono stati bambini con disturbo dello spettro autistico e bambini con problemi di udito. Infine, il metodo di insegnamento Montessori è stata analizzato come fonte di ispirazione per il progetto. Tale metodo consente ai bambini di imparare usando materiali multisensoriali, permettendo loro così di acquisire conoscenza in maniera autonoma. È stata eseguita anche una ricerca di mercato per capire come i nuovi dispositivi in grado di rilevare i dati fisiologici stiano ottenendo spazio sul mercato. La crescita e gli usi principali di questi dispositivi sono stati analizzati sia in termini generali che in relazione al rilevamento dello stress. La ricerca di mercato ha evidenziato che è possibile utilizzare i sensori per rilevare lo stress e che esistono molte possibilità per il product design di agire sui dati raccolti. Il processo di progettazione è stato focalizzato sull'esplorazione, attraverso la prototipazione rapida, della possibilità di mostrare ai bambini il proprio stato emotivo e guidarli durante il loro processo di gestione dello stress con stimoli sensoriali. L'obiettivo era quello di creare un sistema modulare che potesse essere personalizzato per ogni bambino, in base alle sue particolari esigenze e preferenze. Il sistema ha un modulo principale che è responsabile di tradurre i dati dei sensori in input visivi ed è anche il principale fornitore di energia per gli altri moduli. Il sistema è completato da (i) un modulo olfattivo in grado di fornire aromaterapia quando attivato dai sensori di pressione, (ii) un modulo di tocco che è coperto da texture e alimentato da un motore tattile e (iii) un modulo audio che viene attivato da movimenti specifici. Il sistema modifica gradualmente l'input luminoso mostrato al bambino mentre, durante l'uso, il bambino si calma. In conclusione, il design di questo sistema vuole essere una sperimentazione focalizzata allo sviluppo di nuove tecnologie in grado di migliorare la nostra abilità di capire e imparare da noi stessi. Questo progetto, che riguarda autonomia, scoperta e responsabilizzazione dei bambini, contribuisce positivamente alla qualità di vita durante l’infanzia per indurre una migliore risposta allo stress in futuro.
An exploratory multi sensorial system for stress management of children
TOLDO, MARIE'
2017/2018
Abstract
Stress is a normal factor in everyday life. Everyone did and will experience stress and it is of vital importance to create appropriate strategies to learn how to cope with this emotional response, often due to unforeseeable events. Although stress is normally associated with adulthood, the presence of stressors in childhood should not be ignored. This thesis approaches how to address these problems in children and how to provide them with coping mechanisms that guide the children trough a process of self discovery in which they learn about their stress levels by playing. The scientific research conducted explored firstly the existing literature about design for wellbeing and design for mood regulation, than the psychology of stress as a general concept, what causes it, how is it processed and what are its consequences. Furthermore, the research moved towards specific groups that normally encounter more emotional instability given a pre-existing condition. The groups studied were children with ASD and children with hearing impairment. Finally, the teaching method of Montessori was analysed as an inspiration for the project. The Montessori method enables children to learn by using multi-sensorial materials, thus allowing the children to gain knowledge by themselves. A market research was also performed to understand how new devices able to detect physiological data are getting space on the market. The growth and the main uses of these devices were analysed both in general terms and in relation to stress detection. The market research concluded that it is possible to use sensors to detect stress and that there are many possibilities for product design to act upon the data collected. The design process was focused on exploring, through rapid prototyping, the possibility to indicate children their own emotional stability and guiding them during their coping process with sensorial stimuli. The aim was to create a modular system that could be personalised for each child, according to their own needs and preferences. The system has a main module that is responsible to translate the data of the sensors into visual input and it is also the main battery provider to the other modules. The system is complemented by (i) a smell module that is able to provide aromatherapy when activated by pressure sensors, (ii) a touch module that provides haptic stimuli when perceives movement, and (iii) an audio module that is activated by a specific movement. The system gradually changes the light input shown to the child when, during the use, the child calms down. In conclusion, the design of this new system represents an experimentation focused on the deployment of new technologies to enhance objects and to enhance our capability of understanding and learning more about ourselves. It is about autonomy, discovery and empowerment of the children, increasing life quality in childhood to guarantee an improved emotional response to stress factors also in the future.File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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https://hdl.handle.net/10589/143624