Course Content

Teams that work to produce software that meet the goals of HCI must possess a wide range of knowledge about human psychology and technology.

Breakdown: This is the evaluation/assessment process associated with HCI:

• Study of the capability of the human brain and one’s senses that are used in human-computer interactions.
• A human’s ability to learn how to use computing systems.
• The context of joint performance  — which is more important? the  human? the computer? what about human-computer-human interactions? (specifically, the field of study is called digital ethnography.. check out the digital ethnography program at Kansas State University)
• Studying the structure of the communication/interface
• Human task analysis… how do humans perform normal tasks, is there a certain amount of automaticity that can be replicated?
• The actual design, implementation, and evaluation of  user interfaces GUI

Historical Roots (1980’s)

On the left are the various computer disciplines that have evolved. To the right are the aligned contributions to the study of human-computer interactions that each has made over time.

…………………….

Discipline Computer Graphics ———> Computer Science ———> Operating Systems ———> Human Factors ———> Ergonomics ———> Industrial Engineering ———> Cognitive Psychology ———> Information Systems ———>

Contribution Cathode ray tubes and pen devices Mouse, bit-mapped graphics, desktop metaphor Input/output Flight instrument displays work stress, physiology, environment efficiency, production human performance, learnability, usability decision support systems

Modern software developers spend as much as 48% of their design & development efforts studying HCI issues

HCI is at the core of  the following computer & psychological sciences

• cognitive science
• sociology
• ergonomics
• artificial intelligence

Interface Agents: Premises

• When you choose the characteristics of an on-screen representation, you are making very important decisions.
• Example: choosing which icons to use
• How do you presentation input screens?

The terms of the in Interface are very structured

1. There is an etiquette involved
2. People make quick assumptions about an on-line character (usually within 3 seconds)
3. This leads to very emotional responses to media
4. You need to decide exactly, What kind of emotional response do you want? (more than a simple Yes/No)

Characteristics of interface agents: Consider these terms

• Attractiveness, age, facial expressions, gender, familiarity, casting, image size, motion, resolution, closeness, engagement
• Psychological responses can be triggered by any or all of the above
• Also understand asking users what they think isn’t always an accurate reflection of true feelings. They won’t always tell the truth
• How do you measure effectiveness?
• Language is not always the reason for misunderstanding; It can sometimes be cultural differences

Mediated matters: When trying to decide how to design interfaces one must also consider many of the following

• What elements make human-human conversations work?
• What makes human-human communication work?
• Is the body language involved?
• Intonation, etc.
• Does flattery work better with people who are less confident about their work? (Is flattery obligatory even when not warranted?)
• Would it work with computers? If it flattered you you’d like it better?
• Does flattery work better with people who are less confident about their work?

Visual design: Tons of research has been done on the following

• How a picture fills a visual field affects your perceptions
• How a picture fills a field affects your perception
• Size of the screen, angles, shading, coloration, etc.

How do we measure our responses?

• Attention (how to gain/maintain it)
• The WAY we look @ media figures (I bet you are surprised when you see movie/TV actors who play different parts (do we tend to stereo-type them?)
• The distribution of personality types may influence our judgments of people in the real world (Here is where all the “does playing violent video games influence personal behavior comes into play).
• HCI is a two-way street. The computer is always doing something to you!

There are two main personalities of interfaces

• The dominant categories are:
  1. dominance/submissiveness
  2. friendliness/unfriendliness

• Examples (for those over 40 years old and can remember: JR Ewing on the TV show ‘Dallas‘
  • He’d win her over by apologizing afterwards
  • People love it when you make a change: look at political figures Example: Bill Clinton eventually apologized .. how about Trey Radel?
• Trust me when I say it is the same with friendliness/politeness… the emotional responses to computers/media is the same.. the lines are blurring more and more.. don’t believe me? how is it that moviegoers can so easily suspend their disbelief with the movie ‘Her’?

Follow-up: Media personalities are readily identified by the people who experience them

1. Can a computer/medium take on a human personality?
   • What is considered dominant behavior?
   • Can a computer seem dominant?
   • Will dominant people like dominant computers?
   • Will submissive people like submissive computers?
2. Can we apply social rules to interfacing with computers? Studies have shown:
   • People like computers if they act like themselves
   • However, they like them even better if the computer appears to change/move toward their own personalities
   • It simply creates an emotional response
     • Good or bad
     • Doesn’t matter—just get a response
     • Think Psychologically

The Media Equation – A Study of its Theory

Four human nature characteristics are evaluated in these studies to “prove the point”

1. Politeness
2. Negativity
3. Valence (good vs bad)
4. Polyanna (Halo)  Effect – how do we resolve two seemingly conflicting views of memory?

Digging Deeper

Here are some links to reviews of the Media Equation to help you make some judgments.. keep in mind the potential affect all of this might have on developing educational media.. let’s not lose site of our mission…

• Book Review of the Media Equation
• Testing the Media Equation with Children
• Another Review Summary (Chapter 29)

The last element of this is to explore some of these hypotheses and findings from the Media Equation studies. You might want to think about any research related questions that come about as you read all of this. Your reflection will include some that come to mind.

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