Along with the dissemination of technical assistance in nearly every part of life, there has been growing interest in the potential of technology to support well-being and human flourishing. ..."Positive technology" thereby takes the responsible role of a "digital coach," supporting people in achieving personal goals and behavior change. The design of such technology requires knowledge of different disciplines such as psychology, design and human-computer interaction. However, possible synergies are not yet used to full effect, and it needs common frameworks to support a more deliberate design of the "therapeutic interaction" mediated through technology. For positive technology design, positive psychology, and resource oriented approaches appear as particularly promising starting point. Besides a general fit of the basic theoretical conceptions of human change, many elements of established interventions could possibly be transferred to technology design. However, besides the power of focusing on the positive, another psychological aspect to consider are the bitter components inherent to change, such as the confrontation with a negative status quo, threat of self-esteem, and the effort required. The present research discusses the general potential and challenges within positive technology design from an interdisciplinary perspective with theoretical and practical contributions. Based on the bitter-sweet ambivalence of change as present in many psychological approaches of motivation and behavior change, the bitter-sweet continuum serves as a proxy for the mixed emotions and cognitions related to change. An empirical investigation of those factors among 177 users of self-improvement technologies provides initial support for the usefulness of the bitter-sweet perspective in understanding change dynamics. In a next step, the bitter-sweet concept is transformed into different design strategies to support positive change. The present article aims to deepen the discussion about the responsible role of technology as a well-being enhancement tool and to provide a fruitful frame for different disciplines involved in positive technology. Two aspects are highlighted: First, investigating well-being technology as a form of "therapeutic interaction," focusing on the need for sensible design solutions in the emerging dialogue between technology and user. Second, a stronger consideration of the bitter-sweet ambivalence of change, utilizing (positive) psychology interventions to full effect.
Subsumed under the umbrella of
User Experience (UX), practitioners and academics of Human–Computer Interaction look for ways to broaden their understanding of what constitutes “pleasurable ...experiences” with technology. The present study considered the fulfilment of universal psychological needs, such as competence, relatedness, popularity, stimulation, meaning, security, or autonomy, to be the major source of positive experience with interactive technologies. To explore this, we collected over 500 positive experiences with interactive products (e.g., mobile phones, computers). As expected, we found a clear relationship between need fulfilment and positive affect, with stimulation, relatedness, competence and popularity being especially salient needs. Experiences could be further categorized by the primary need they fulfil, with apparent qualitative differences among some of the categories in terms of the emotions involved. Need fulfilment was clearly linked to hedonic quality perceptions, but not as strongly to pragmatic quality (i.e., perceived usability), which supports the notion of hedonic quality as “motivator” and pragmatic quality as “hygiene factor.” Whether hedonic quality ratings reflected need fulfilment depended on the belief that the product was responsible for the experience (i.e., attribution).
We collected over a thousand technology-mediated positive experiences with media and obtained measures describing aspects of the experience itself (affect, psychological need fulfillment) and of the ...product (i.e., content and technology) integral to the experience (pragmatic quality, hedonic quality). We found a strong relation between intensity of need fulfillment and positive affect. Furthermore, different activities had different need profiles. Watching was foremost a relatedness experience, listening a stimulation and meaning experience, and playing a competence experience. Need fulfillment and positive affect was related to perceptions of hedonic quality, however moderated through attribution, that is, the belief that the product played a role in creating the experience. Pragmatic quality was not linked to experiential measures. The present study (a) demonstrates the merits of distinguishing between an experience-oriented and a product-oriented evaluation, (b) suggests a set of possible measurement instruments for experience-oriented and a product-oriented evaluation, and (c) details the process of how positive experience is transformed into positive product perceptions and judgments of appeal.
Robots increasingly act as our social counterparts in domains such as healthcare and retail. For these human-robot interactions (HRI) to be effective, a question arises on whether we trust robots the ...same way we trust humans. We investigated whether the determinants competence and warmth, known to influence interpersonal trust development, influence trust development in HRI, and what role anthropomorphism plays in this interrelation. In two online studies with 2 × 2 between-subjects design, we investigated the role of robot competence (Study 1) and robot warmth (Study 2) in trust development in HRI. Each study explored the role of robot anthropomorphism in the respective interrelation. Videos showing an HRI were used for manipulations of robot competence (through varying gameplay competence) and robot anthropomorphism (through verbal and non-verbal design cues and the robot's presentation within the study introduction) in Study 1 (
= 155) as well as robot warmth (through varying compatibility of intentions with the human player) and robot anthropomorphism (same as Study 1) in Study 2 (
= 157). Results show a positive effect of robot competence (Study 1) and robot warmth (Study 2) on trust development in robots regarding anticipated trust and attributed trustworthiness. Subjective perceptions of competence (Study 1) and warmth (Study 2) mediated the interrelations in question. Considering applied manipulations, robot anthropomorphism neither moderated interrelations of robot competence and trust (Study 1) nor robot warmth and trust (Study 2). Considering subjective perceptions, perceived anthropomorphism moderated the effect of perceived competence (Study 1) and perceived warmth (Study 2) on trust on an attributional level. Overall results support the importance of robot competence and warmth for trust development in HRI and imply transferability regarding determinants of trust development in interpersonal interaction to HRI. Results indicate a possible role of perceived anthropomorphism in these interrelations and support a combined consideration of these variables in future studies. Insights deepen the understanding of key variables and their interaction in trust dynamics in HRI and suggest possibly relevant design factors to enable appropriate trust levels and a resulting desirable HRI. Methodological and conceptual limitations underline benefits of a rather robot-specific approach for future research.
Miles apart but close at heart? Schuster, Klara; Krupp, Angelina; Diefenbach, Sarah
I-com,
02/2024, Letnik:
23, Številka:
1
Journal Article
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With more people living physically separated from beloved ones, technologies which support relatedness over distance can play an important role for wellbeing. For this purpose, these so-called ...relatedness technologies use different strategies such as awareness of the other’s activities, simulating physical proximity, or joint action. It appears that only few research concepts turn into commercial concepts or are actually adopted in everyday life. Also, published concepts often show a lack of theoretical foundations and systematic exploration of relevant factors for acceptance and user experience. The present research aims to provide a better theoretical basis for the research and development of relatedness technologies by combining theory from psychology and HCI with empirical insights from four focus groups (
= 21). As a result, we present a UX factors-checklist consisting of motivators, hygiene factors, and meta topics that can be used when designing and evaluating relatedness technologies in order to ensure actual use and a positive user experience and highlight next research steps.
With impressive developments in human-robot interaction it may seem that technology can do anything. Especially in the domain of social robots which suggest to be much more than programmed machines ...because of their anthropomorphic shape, people may overtrust the robot's actual capabilities and its reliability. This presents a serious problem, especially when personal well-being might be at stake. Hence, insights about the development and influencing factors of overtrust in robots may form an important basis for countermeasures and sensible design decisions. An empirical study
= 110 explored the development of overtrust using the example of a pet feeding robot. A 2 × 2 experimental design and repeated measurements contrasted the effect of one's own experience, skill demonstration, and reputation through experience reports of others. The experiment was realized in a video environment where the participants had to imagine they were going on a four-week safari trip and leaving their beloved cat at home, making use of a pet feeding robot. Every day, the participants had to make a choice: go to a day safari without calling options (risk and reward) or make a boring car trip to another village to check if the feeding was successful and activate an emergency call if not (safe and no reward). In parallel to cases of overtrust in other domains (e.g., autopilot), the feeding robot performed flawlessly most of the time until in the fourth week; it performed faultily on three consecutive days, resulting in the cat's death if the participants had decided to go for the day safari on these days. As expected, with repeated positive experience about the robot's reliability on feeding the cat, trust levels rapidly increased and the number of control calls decreased. Compared to one's own experience, skill demonstration and reputation were largely neglected or only had a temporary effect. We integrate these findings in a conceptual model of (over)trust over time and connect these to related psychological concepts such as positivism, instant rewards, inappropriate generalization, wishful thinking, dissonance theory, and social concepts from human-human interaction. Limitations of the present study as well as implications for robot design and future research are discussed.
Although many of our interactions with technology nowadays take place in public places (e.g., using a mobile phone in public transportation), research and design on Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) ...has paid little attention to how this kind of technology usage affects others present—and vice versa. To illustrate the perspective of the attendant, i.e., a person who is not interacting with technology themselves but co-experiencing it as listener or viewer, we developed the so-called Attendant Card Set (ACS). In two studies, an expert survey and a student workshop, we tested its practical applicability and usefulness. It showed not only that experts assess the cards positively, i.e., helpful, informative, and relevant, but also that the cards can be used with laypersons for perspective-taking, creative ideation, and discussions. Thus, analyzing and/or comparing the experience of different types with the help of the ACS provides a unique approach to the consideration of the attendant perspective in the research and development process. Limitations of the present research and opportunities for future tool applications are discussed. In addition to establishing this concept in HCI, we also see potential in the transferability to other areas and contexts such as the design of public space or non-technological products.
Technologies, such as smartphones or wearables, take a central role in our daily lives. Making their use meaningful and enjoyable requires a better understanding of the prerequisites and ...underpinnings of positive experiences with such technologies. So far, a focus had been on the users themselves, that is, their individual goals, desires, feelings, and acceptance. However, technology is often used in a social context, observed by others or even used in interaction with others, and thus shapes social dynamics considerably. In the present paper, we start from the notion that meaningful and/or enjoyable experiences (i.e., wellbeing) are a major outcome of technology use. We investigate how these experiences are further shaped by social context, such as potential spectators. More specifically, we gathered private (while being alone) and public (while other people are present) positive experiences with technology and compared need fulfillment and affective experience. In addition, we asked participants to imagine a change in context (from private to public or public to private) and to report the impact of this change on experience. Results support the idea of particular social needs, such as relatedness and popularity, which are especially relevant and better fulfilled in public than in private contexts. Moreover, our findings show that participants experience less positive affect when imaginatively removing the present others from a formerly public interaction, i.e., when they imagine performing the same interaction but without the other people present. Overall, this underlines the importance of social context for Human-Computer Interaction practice and research. Practical implications relate to product development, e.g., designing interactive technologies that can adapt to context (changes) or allow for context-sensitive interaction sets. We discuss limitations related to the experimental exploration of social context, such as the method of data collection, as well as potential alternatives to address those limitations, such as diary studies.
A large part of everyday communication is mediated by technology, with a constantly growing number of choices. Accordingly, how people choose between different communication media is a long-standing ...research question. However, while prominent media theories focus on how media characteristics affect communication performance, the underlying psychological motives of media choice and how different technologies comply with these are less considered. We propose a theoretical framework that links media characteristics with peoples’ intentions to influence communication and present a qualitative study on reasons for media choice in socio-emotional situations. An analysis through the lens of the framework illustrates how users employ media to establish control over the interactional speed and emotional intensity of communication and thereby regulate their communication experience. Besides an advanced theoretical understanding, the present analysis provides a basis for a conscious design of communication media, to deliberately shape the way people interact with technology and each other.
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