Physiological differences depending on task performed in a 5-day interaction scenario designed for the elderly: A pilot study

This paper investigates the relationship between different physiological parameters and three tasks performed by an elderly individual in a 5-days interaction scenario. The physiological parameters investigated are: the galvanic skin response, the facial temperature variation, the heart rate, and the respiration rate. The three tasks were the same during all interactions. More specifically, the participant started with a relaxation period of 3 min, continued with 5 cognitive games, and finished with a news reading task. Each day consisted of two sessions: morning session (at around 11am), and afternoon session (at around 3pm). Our hypotheses were validated, meaning that we can differentiate between the three tasks by looking only at the physiological parameters, and we can differentiate between two difficulty levels of the cognitive games. A discussion of these results is also provided.