Mood-Detecting Smartphone Apps Help Psychologists Diagnose Patients

Over the past few days, I’ve read about a couple of smartphone apps and computer programs that are smart enough to detect our moods, and after researching them more, a few of them are definitely worth sharing with you. Smartphone apps have gotten so sophisticated over the past few years that sometimes it seems like they really can do anything.

Psychologists who are trying to help patients deal with depression often ask those patients to record their moods throughout the day in a mood diary. That system has all kinds of flaws since the person often times forgets, records inaccurate information or includes an interpretation which clouds the data that their doctor needs to see.

The first of these smartphone apps is one that can detect a person’s mood and automatically email the information to his or her doctor at the end of the day. The app does this by always being on, and always listening to the person’s voice. The app can figure out from all kinds of different factors in the person’s voice what kind of mood he or she is in. From a psychologist’s perspective, this can be invaluable information when trying to determine what can happen during the day to throw the patient into a downward spiral. You can read more about this one here on New Scientist.

The second of these smartphone apps that I wanted to share with you is one that can look at your face to determine your mood. Instead of using voice like the first one, this one uses visuals to determine what is going on. This technology is something that scientists have been working on for a while, and it seems that soon it will be ready for use in practical situations.

For example, if a math student is struggling with a certain concept, the computer program will pick that up by looking at his or her face, and alert the teacher. There are also mental health applications with this software, just like the first one. You can read more about this one on Popsci.

Then there is my own interpretation…I can’t help but think these types of smartphone apps might be helpful in relationships too. I mean, guys are always talking about how hard it is to figure out girls, and with an app like this, he could always know what her mood is and what triggers her to get upset. I hope you click over to the source articles to read more about these. This technology is fascinating.