Tension-to-Ease Shift
A transition from tension to ease brought about by small positive cues in an AI exchange, in which the user's strained state gives way to a lighter, more relaxed one.
Operational Definition
EVENT. One occurrence is coded when a turn showing tension or strain is followed, after a small positive cue from the AI, by a turn showing reduced strain and greater ease. The transition into the eased turn is the countable marker.
Measurement Schema
Proposed measurement protocol (not yet empirically validated): Tension-to-ease coding: raters rate per-turn strain/ease (e.g., tense vs. relaxed expression markers) and mark transitions from strained to eased following a positive cue; count transitions per session; inter-rater agreement would be assessed via weighted Cohen's kappa on the ordered strain ratings.