28 research outputs found
Design for healthy behavior: design interventions and stages of change
Get PDFDesigners have increasingly used the capacity of design to influence human behavior and consequently to address the challenges that our society faces. One of these challenges is the rise of ‘lifestyle diseases’, such as obesity and diabetes. A change towards a more healthy lifestyle could in many cases prevent or diminish such diseases, which would reduce demands and costs in care. Moreover, it could lead to a higher level of wellbeing for many people. In response to this challenge, designers and computer scientists have created interventions that help people adopt a healthier lifestyle. We argue that designers need to consider the different stages that people go through to durably change their behavior. In this paper, we discuss how design interventions aimed at adopting a healthier lifestyle correspond to different stages in the Transtheoretical Model of Health Behavior Change. Furthermore, we discuss how designers could design for stages of change
Design for healthy behavior: design interventions and stages of change
No full textDesigners have increasingly used the capacity of design to influence human behavior and consequently to address the challenges that our society faces. One of these challenges is the rise of ‘lifestyle diseases’, such as obesity and diabetes. A change towards a more healthy lifestyle could in many cases prevent or diminish such diseases, which would reduce demands and costs in care. Moreover, it could lead to a higher level of wellbeing for many people. In response to this challenge, designers and computer scientists have created interventions that help people adopt a healthier lifestyle. We argue that designers need to consider the different stages that people go through to durably change their behavior. In this paper, we discuss how design interventions aimed at adopting a healthier lifestyle correspond to different stages in the Transtheoretical Model of Health Behavior Change. Furthermore, we discuss how designers could design for stages of change
Lost habits and the acceptance of product service systems
No full textProduct Service Systems (PSS) are a combination of products and services, jointly fulfilling a user’s need. PSS can offer numerous benefits for businesses, society and the environment, but consumer acceptance of PSS remains rather low. Required behaviour change and existing user habits are one of the key barriers for limited acceptance. This thesis studies the role of habits in the PSS acceptance process, and in the PSS design process. Thereby, this research was aimed on conducting a long-term living lab study of a well-accepted mobility PSS for elderly, and a literature study on habits, behaviour and acceptance. Together, these studies have resulted in the proposition that addressing Lost Habits in the design process can lead to increased PSS acceptance. The living lab study involved a small-scale mobility PSS for elderly. This PSS was well-accepted because it was able to restore values that were related to people’s discontinued habits. Thereby, it showed that addressing important values, for example providing independence and facilitating social connections, stimulated the acceptance of this particular PSS. Remarkably, the provision of “just” mobility was not a primary reason for acceptance, but merely an enabling framework. Literature research pointed out that habits play a subordinate role in theory on behaviour and acceptance. However, this thesis found that habits play an important role in people’s lives, and restoring already changing behaviour, thereby enabling people to regain or sustain familiar behaviour may be more successful in fostering acceptance than triggering behavioural change. As a result, PSS acceptance can be enhanced, when the PSS is presented during or after a process of change, due to unwanted circumstances. In such situations, there is an intrinsic and personal driven motivation to use a PSS, as long as it provides the opportunity to continue desired behaviour. Based on both approaches, the phenomenon of Lost Habits was identified as decisive phenomenon for high acceptance. This phenomenon was further analysed and elaborated upon in consecutive studies. Furthermore, it was worked out into a theoretical model and a design tool that design teams can use to increase PSS acceptance, based on people’s values, their behaviour, and their habits
Beyond R2D2 - The design of nonverbal interaction behavior optimized for robot-specific morphologies
Get PDFIt is likely that in the near future we will meet more and more robots that will perform tasks in social environments, such as shopping malls, airports or museums. However, design guidelines that inform the design of effective nonverbal behavior for robots are scarce. This is surprising since the behavior of robots in social environments can greatly affect the interaction between people and robots. Previous work has shown that people have the tendency to project motivations, intentions and emotions on non-living objects, such as robots, when these objects start to move. Moreover, it has been shown that people tend to react socially to computers, televisions and new media. Similarly, people will react socially to robots. Currently, in the field of human-robot interaction the focus is on creating robots that look like humans and that can use humanlike behavior in interaction. However, such robots are not suitable for all tasks, and humanlike robots are complex, vulnerable and expensive. Moreover, people do not always prefer humanlike robots over robots with other appearances. This indicates that there are good reasons to develop low-anthropomorphic robots; robots that do not resemble people in appearance. A challenge in designing nonverbal behavior for low- anthropomorphic robots is that these robots often lack the abilities to imitate humanlike behavior correctly. These robots could lack the specific modalities to perform the behavior, for example, they may not have arms and fingers to point with. When a robot does have the right modalities to perform a specific behavior, these modalities might not have similar degrees of freedom to imitate recognizable nonverbal behavior. Yet, contrary to people, low-anthropomorphic robots may use screens, projections, light cues or specific movements to communicate their intentions and motivations. To optimize the use of robot-specific modalities and morphology, we developed robot-optimized behavior. This was done in the context of developing guide robots for tourist sites. To understand the effects of both imitated humanlike behavior and robot-optimized behavior for low-anthropomorphic robots on peoples’ perception, controlled lab studies and in-the-wild studies have been performed. First, we analyzed the effect and effectiveness of imitated humanlike guide behavior on low-anthropomorphic robots. These studies showed that humanlike behavior is preferred over random behavior, but that it is also more distracting. This means that humanlike behavior may not the best solution to design behavior for low-anthropomorphic robots. An important question now was what would be a promising alternative to imitating human behavior. In follow-up studies we compared the effect and effectiveness of imitated humanlike behavior for the robot to robot- optimized behavior. From these studies we learned that robot-optimized behavior is a good alternative for low-anthropomorphic robots instead of imitated humanlike behavior. To effectively perform the studies mentioned above, we developed and introduced DREAM, Data Reduction Event Analysis Method. This method allowed us to analyze video data of in-the-wild human-robot interaction. Such a method did not yet exist, and is essential in order to gain insight in effective behaviors for robots. Because many more aspects than only the behavior of the robot and the person interacting with the robot play a role in the final user experience, such as context and other people in that context, it is necessary to add real world field studies to studies in controlled (lab) environments. Therefore, in this thesis, DREAM, is introduced to analyze the rich and unstructured data of in the wild human-robot interactions in a fast and reliable manner. This method turned out to be effective to use for the guide context human-robot interaction data. The work presented in this thesis is a first step towards understanding 1) the effect of nonverbal behavior for low-anthropomorphic robots, 2) which design approaches can be effectively used to design this behavior and 3) how nonverbal robot behavior can be studied and evaluated in the wild. The tangible outcomes of this thesis: 1) the robot-optimized approach to design behavior for low-anthropomorphic robots, and 2) DREAM to evaluate human-robot interaction in the wild. These results can well serve as a starting point to further develop more diverse and effective design approaches in human-robot interaction
Designing feedback: multimodality and specificity
Get PDFNow that many of us carry around devices that are equipped with sensors (e.g., smartphones with accelerometers) we can use these sensors to measure behavior. The data thus captured can be used to give someone feedback about this behavior. These feedback mechanisms are often used in so called smart coaches, a growing group of product-service systems within the domain of persuasive technology. Despite decades of research on persuasive systems, challenges remain for designers of feedback systems. Little is known about how to design feedback in such a way that it is most effective in motivating people to change their behavior. In this paper, we give a categorization of feedback systems based on the modality that the feedback is offered in and on the specificity of the feedback. We discuss under what circumstances the different types of feedback may be most effective considering the context a feedback system is used in and the goals that users of the system have. Finally, we discuss future research on feedback systems aimed at find more specific design guidelines for feedback systems that apply to persuasive technology in different situations
A model of lost habits: towards a strategy to improve the acceptance of product service systems
Get PDFUser acceptance is one of the largest barriers for the success of product-service systems (PSS). Often, PSS require a user to change his or her behaviour, which may conflict with existing habits. This results in non-acceptance of the PSS, which is disappointing for designers who aim to develop successful PSS. Research on acceptance of PSS has been focused on the context in which PSS could operate, and on how PSS should be designed and marketed, in order to trigger and stimulate behaviour change. These methods centre on the viewpoint that change is a necessity. However, change is difficult, because people tend to hold on to their habits. In this paper we will propose that habits can be used in the design process, for which we introduce the term “lost habits”. When people lose habits due to undesired events, they may be very motivated to accept something that is instrumental to restore their habits. A PSS that addresses these so-called lost habits, might therefore be successfully accepted. In this paper, we will present a model that builds on this point of view, and we will present an explorative study to find how this model can be used in the beginning of a design process
Appearances can be deceiving:The portayal of weight and embodied meaning portrayal in product design
Get PDFFirst impressions often arise from visual perceptions of product appearance, later to be followed by multisensory impressions involving touch and haptic sensations. These subsequent sensations may sometimes reinforce impressions generated by product appearance, but lead to disappointment when expectations are not met. In this paper, the relationship between weight, product evaluation, and consumer personality is tested. Based on the embodied cognition framework, it is argued that a potential pitfall of downsizing consumer electronics consists in accompanied weight reductions, inspiring perceptions of products as cheap and flimsy. In order to substantiate this claim, in study 1, a vision-only study was conducted, clearly demonstrating that people prefer compact, slender product variants over more voluminous versions. In study 2, actual dummy phones were used and product weight was manipulated independently from product appearance. Results show that lightweight variants may reduce value perceptions and product appeal, but that this effect varies with consumer personality.</p
Expressive entities: An Exploration and Critical Reflection on Poetic Engagements with Technology
Get PDFThe overarching motivation of this thesis is to open new ideas on designing aesthetic interactions in everyday technology, moving beyond goal-directed utility to more nuanced, experimental, and even challenging interactions. My research endeavor is to impact human value by creating critical and imaginative technology-human relations. In particular, I design digital expressiveness to accommodate sensitive human sides before highlighting digital beings’ effective performances. In doing so, I strive for expressive yet thoughtful computational embodiments that empower humans to be expressive, reflective, explorative, and connected to each other. To bring these conceptual experimentations into tangible experiences in people’s lives, my research is based on designing interactive artifacts called “Expressive Entities”. To carry on this research outline above, I pursue an integrated approach from 1) conceptual and 2) methodological sides to steer 24 design explorations that underpin this thesis. First, I built conceptual experimentations on imagining what could present “Poetic Engagements with Technology”. Essentially, Poetic Engagements allow humankind to be protagonists who feel, sense, perceive, choose, and appropriate the engagements with technology, and avoid defining human beings from a generalized and filtered result through a technological lens. The outcome of this conceptual framework is composed of Four Poetic Interaction Possibilities: Expressive, Felt, Meditative, and Ludic Tech. Second, I open methodological development that bridges the conceptual exploration to design practice through “Experimental Making”. In particular, I propose art practice strategies and values in designing through three practice components, Defamiliarization, Creativity, and Imagination. This approach incorporates critical design perspective and imaginative ideas into material explorations and fluid assemblages for designing new aesthetic interactions. These two main research streams are correlated and complementary, introducing new concepts, embedding metaphors, and developing sensual aesthetics to expand thoughtful human-technology relations, bringing poetic experiences into life
Embodiment in design: On the embodied foundations of meaning and experience in product design
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