Originally HCI did not involve emotion at all; the computer was seen as a binary
machine devoid of any possibilities to position its responses between the extremes of zero and one and users simply had to adapt to that situation (Brave and Nass 2003).
A similar perspective was also taken in experimental psychology where emotion (hot
cognition) and reason (cold cognition) were long taken to be completely separated
(e.g. Sorrentino and Higgins 1986). Picard (1997), therefore, argued that perception
and appropriate presentation of affect by a computer might facilitate interaction
with users and improve user performance in, as well as user satisfaction of, such an
interface. She proposed to investigate affective computing which she defined as ‘all
computing that relates to, arises from, or deliberately influences emotions’.