Affective Tools for Thought: Towards Shared Attention and Affective Reorienting in AI-Supported Thinking
Yifu Liu, Raffaele Andrea Buono, Nadia Bianchi‐Berthouze
arXiv (Cornell University) July 29, 2026 preprint DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2607.26731 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that affect is constitutive of cognition, reshaping the trajectory of thinking rather than just its speed, and proposes that affect-aware Tools for Thought need "Shared Attention" and "Affective Reorienting." The authors offer three design strategies—"Chain of Emotion X Chain of Thought," "Affective Mirror," and "Prompted Reorienting"—grounded in findings from a touch-aware conversational agent for embodied craft learning and framed as provocations for future design. |
Abstract
Current Tools for Thought (TfTs) treat affect as either friction that slows cognitive progress or a signal to optimise it. Drawing on enactive cognitive science, we argue that affect is constitutive of cognition: it reshapes the trajectory of thinking, not just the speed. We identify two core barriers for Affective TfTs: the lack of Shared Attention (caring, directed attention to the user's mode of engagement) and the lack of Affective Reorienting (the capacity to use emotional moments to open new trajectories rather than reinforcing predetermined ones), and propose three design strategies that address both: Chain of Emotion X Chain of Thought, Affective Mirror, and Prompted Reorienting. The strategies are grounded in empirical findings from a study of a touch-aware conversational agent for embodied craft learning, and are oriented as provocations for future design.