Musical emotion modulation is central to mental well-being, yet existing affective haptic systems often prioritize technical feasibility over investigation of where and what optimal stimuli should be applied. This paper systematically examines the emotional effects of vibrotactile, thermotactile, and combined stimuli based on the Valence–Arousal model across the wrist, neck, and ear under two music conditions, indexed by EEG measures and subjective ratings. We found that both body site and stimulus type significantly influenced emotional responses. The ear strongly enhanced arousal, the neck produced context-dependent effects, and the wrist primarily modulated pleasantness. Vibration primarily boosted arousal, thermal cues enhanced valence, and their combination enabled a more balanced, immersive experience. Our findings provide scientific guidance for future affective wearable design in various contexts.

Evidence shows that visual properties of on-screen objects determine their function and operation, thus influencing gesture elicitation. Therefore, this two-stage experimental study investigated how user-defined mid-air gestures elicited by on-screen visual properties affect human biomechanics, behaviour, and perception. Results showed that, psychologically, for the command Next, swiping with the visual flow provided benefits over swiping perpendicular to it; for Remove, swiping perpendicular to the visual flow offered advantages compared to swiping with it. Behaviourally, for Next, swiping left generated shorter response times than swiping up with a stimulus possessing a horizontal visual flow. Physiologically, for Next, swiping up induced higher forearm muscular load than swiping left under the vertical visual flow condition; for View, tapping twice resulted in less finger muscular load under the multiple entities condition than the one entity condition. These findings could provide a scientific basis for guiding appropriate mid-air gesture design considering on-screen visual properties.