# Mirror Ritual: An Affective Interface for Emotional Self-Reflection

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2004.09685 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2004.09685/

## Key facts

- Cited by 5 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 21 Apr 2020.

## Built on by (most cited first, 5 of 5)

- [Metamorpheus: Interactive, Affective, and Creative Dream Narration Through Metaphorical Visual Storytelling](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2403.00632/) (2024)
- [Message Ritual: A Posthuman Account of Living with Lamp](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2301.10947/) (2023)
- [Reimagining Personal Data: Unlocking the Potential of AI-Generated Images in Personal Data Meaning-Making](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2502.18853/) (2025)
- [Mimetic Poet](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2407.11984/) (2024)
- [AnnoSense: A Framework for Physiological Emotion Data Collection in Everyday Settings for AI](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.02680/) (2025)

## Abstract (arXiv)

This paper introduces a new form of real-time affective interface that engages the user in a process of conceptualisation of their emotional state. Inspired by Barrett's Theory of Constructed Emotion, `Mirror Ritual' aims to expand upon the user's accessible emotion concepts, and to ultimately provoke emotional reflection and regulation. The interface uses classified emotions -- obtained through facial expression recognition -- as a basis for dynamically generating poetry. The perceived emotion is used to seed a poetry generation system based on OpenAI's GPT-2 model, fine-tuned on a specially curated corpus. We evaluate the device's ability to foster a personalised, meaningful experience for individual users over a sustained period. A qualitative analysis revealed that participants were able to affectively engage with the mirror, with each participant developing a unique interpretation of its poetry in the context of their own emotional landscape.