MARIT COEHOORN

Graduation thesisMSc Design for Interaction | Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering

Delft University of Technology | The Netherlands, 2014

PHUBBING?AN ABSURD DESIGN INTERVENTION

FOR REDEFINING SMART-PHONE USAGE

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MARIT COEHOORN

Graduation thesisMSc Design for Interaction | Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering

Delft University of Technology | The Netherlands, 2014

PHUBBING?AN ABSURD DESIGN INTERVENTION

FOR REDEFINING SMART-PHONE USAGE

4

4 Table of content

6 Abstract

8 PART I · INTRODUCTION TO THE THESIS

10 Chapter 1 - Starting point 12 Preface

13 1.1 Introduction

15 1.2 Assignment description & approach

16 1.3 Design process

TABLE OF CONTENTS

18 PART II · ANALYSIS PHASE

20 Overview of analysis phase setup

22 Chapter 2 - Background theory24 2.2 Improving well-being

27 2.3 Achieving life-goals

29 2.4 Dealing with life-goal conflicts

32 2.5 Impact of life-goal conflicts on well-being

34 Chapter 3 - Experiencing conflicting life-goals36 3.1 User study on conflict experiences

40 3.2 Aspects involved in conflict experiences

44 Chapter 4 - The framework46 4.1 Context factors & clustering

50 4.2 Three situations of life-goal conflicts

52 4.3 Framework for life-goal conflicts

54 Overview of analysis insights

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56 PART III · DESIGN PHASE

58 Overview of design phase setup

60 Chapter 5 - Design vision61 5.1 Vision statement

63 5.2 Essence of framework

65 5.3 Specify conviction: missing out

67 5.4 Specify behavior: phubbing

70 5.5 Design strategies

73 5.6 Interaction vision & product qualities

74 Chapter 6 - Design intervention76 6.1 The design intervention

78 6.2 Storyboard of intervention

80 6.3 Design validation

82 6.4 Technical validation

84 Overview of design decisions

86 PART IV · DISCUSSION

88 Chapter 7 - Evaluation of intervention90 7.1 Evaluative study - setup

91 7.2 Evaluative study - results & conclusion

96 7.3 Recommendations for the intervention

98 Chapter 8 - Process & personal insights100 8.1 Process reflection

103 8.2 Personal reflection

104 Acknowledgements

105 References

This master’s thesis presents a design intervention aiming to redefine people’s smart-phone usage, preceded by an investigation into the present-day social issue of people’s high strivings. The aim of the thesis has been to explore how a design approach can contribute to improving people’s mental health, by means of interventions that support people in their daily lives. The project has been in cooperation with the Trimbos Institute, a centre of expertise on mental health, which develops and applies their knowledge for the benefit of the health of the Dutch population.

The project initiated from a personal fascination for a social phenomenon - which will be referred to as the ‘high strivings syndrome’ - that seems to be significantly influencing people’s well-being in society today. The phenomenon describes the social trend of more and more people having such high aims for themselves in multiple life domains, that they are unable to live up to their own expectations and consequentially experience less life satisfaction.

This phenomenon can be approached by looking into conflicting life-goals, as this describes people’s experiences and behaviour in concrete situations. We all have multiple important goals in our lives that we actively pursue, but sometimes these goals require more of the same limited resources, such as time or energy. By examining people’s motivations involved in specific conflicting life-goal experiences, numerous aspects have been distilled that determine how people deal with conflicts and how this affects their well-being.

The analysis has led to several insights. One the main conclusions that can be drawn is that conflicting life-goals provide the necessary friction for personal growth. as it exposes a mismatch between a person’s expectations and a person’s perceived reality. People’s awareness of this allows them to develop certain competences in order to constructively deal with conflicts. A framework on conflicting life-goals summarizes how several competences are essential for people’s ability

to constructively deal with conflicts and thereby find a balance between their expectations and reality.

An essential competence has been distilled from the framework, being the ability of people ‘to question your own convictions’. One relevant conviction for people to question in current Western society would be the idea that they shouldn’t miss out on anything. This conviction is expressed in people’s behaviour, such as people’s urge to compulsively check their phone. When doing so in social settings, this behaviour is referred to as ‘phubbing’.

Therefore, the aim of this project is to design an intervention which enables people to question the convictions on ‘missing out’ by making it feel absurd when you’re constantly checking your phone. By means of a subtle and playful confrontation, people should be triggered to conciously consider which behaviour is good for them and gives them more ease of mind.

The Attention Seekers is a set of coasters that subtly demand people’s attention when they are distracted by their mobile phone in social settings. The coasters can be placed on a table and hidden underneath any existing product. Whenever someone starts phubbing, the device will suddenly begin to move around.

Evaluative tests of this concept proved the interaction generates a positive emotional response. People believe it would make them more concious of phubbing and more hesitant to do so without a good reason. The tests also exposed how unconcious people are or their own and other people’s phubbing behaviour, as participants did not at all notice the relation between phone usage and the device’s movement. For further development of this design intervention, the link to phone usage needs to be emphasized. Several recommendations have been presented on how to improve this. Furthermore, the movement of the device can be explored further to determine which movement best expresses the desired interaction.

ABSTRACT

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Improve subjective well-being

Deal with conflicting life-goals

Deal with high strivings

Conviction “I shouldn’t miss out”

Question phubbing

Make absurd

Attention seekers

HOW

WHY

IMPACT

SOCIAL PHENOMENA

FOCUS

VISION

STRATEGY

DESIGN

Figure 1 - Reasoning from abstract goal to specific design

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Part I of the report presents the starting point and preperation of the project. In

the preface (page 12) the story of how I’ve come to the topic can be read. The

introduction (page 13) explains more background information about this topic, it’s

social relevance and the role design can play in it. The assignment description and

approach (page 15) described the goals set for this project and the design process

(page 16) gives an overview of how I’ve approached the project.

PART IINTRODUCTION TO THE THESIS

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CHAPTER

This graduation thesis initiated from a personal fascination for our ‘performance-driven’ society. People’s high strivings cause them to experience conflicts between the multiple goals they have in life. By analysing this phenomenon, a design vision will be formulated and a design intervention will be developed.

01STARTING POINT.

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Throughout my education, I’ve often contemplated on my role as a designer

and the impact design should and could have on people’s lives and society as

a whole. In search for a graduation subject, I therefore aimed to fully make

use of the freedom this project provides. My ambition for this project has

been to explore a social issue that fascinates me and design an intervention

that brings a positively influence to this issue.

Although this thesis eventually focuses on redefining people’s mobile-

phone usage, it has had a much more broad and open-ended starting point.

This graduation thesis initiated from a personal fascination for a social

phenomenon I’ve been increasingly noticing for quite some time.

I remembered I’d been watching a documentary a while back, portraying a

generation of young and ambitious people who set high expectations for

themselves and strive to live up to all of them, leaving them constantly

unsatisfied (Alles wat we wilden, 2010). I’d been surprised by how well this

documentary captured the essence of what I’d also been noticing around me.

This was a topic I definitely wanted to explore in my graduation thesis. With

this fascination in the back on my mind I contacted Paul and Deger. Their

enthusiasm and support both in the preparation of and during the project

have allowed me to present to you, after a long but exciting process, this

graduation thesis.

It definitely hasn’t been an easy ride. It’s been quite a struggle and at times

I was confronted with my own high striving. Looking back I can say I’m

extremely satisfied which what I’ve learned and accomplished during the

project and am proud to present it to you here!

Marit Coehoorn

PREFACE

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An increasingly present phenomenon in society today is the unattainable high strivings more and

more people set for themselves, leaving them stressed and dissatisfied. This chapter introduces

the social phenomenon that has been the starting point for this graduation thesis and the impact

design interventions could have of social issues and individual well-being.

1.1

INTRODUCTION

employees. In the age group of 15 - 30 year-olds, it even goes up to 17%.

So what’s really going on? Over the past years, more and more attention has been given towards this social issue in popular media, articles and scientific work. There are a lot of different opinions of this, of which a part will briefly be discussed. A commonly stated cause for people’s restlessness is the fact that people nowadays believe and are made to believe that anything is possible (Alles wat we wilden, 2010). Therefore people feel like they have to meet a certain level of success they have set for themselves. By setting high expectations in every aspect of your life and believing that your success is dependent only on yourself (De Botton, 2011), a recipe for disappointment and dissatisfaction is created.

The belief that anything is possible is by no means surprising when we look at certain social developments and trends in Western society. First of all, several 20th century ideologies, such as feminism, socialism, capitalism, and modern democracy, helped develop both our sense of self worth and our ability to choose (Herman, 2011). It resulted in an increasing personal importance of the individual, which strongly determines our current perception of our world. Secondly, life has indeed offered more opportunities, or at least increased the perception of it. Globalization and the technical revolution have allowed people to be connected to everyone and has increased the pace of changes.

The social trend of high strivings“Oh, lekker druk.” - It’s a common Dutch expression (translated as “pleasantly busy”) we tell others when they hastily ask how we’re doing before hurry away to continue their own busy lives. In our current Western society a life without pursuing ambitions, managing expectations and occasional stress is unthinkable. It keeps us going and gives us joy and purpose in life. However, there are strong indications that for more and more people in society today, the expectations they set for themselves are exceeding what is desirable and become counter-productive for their well-being (see Appendix A1).

“All we ever wanted” - the translated title of a documentary by Sarah Domogala (see Figure 2) - seems to capture the essence of this issue that is increasingly present in our Western society today. The documentary portrays a generation of young and ambitious people who set high expectations for themselves and strive to live up to all of them, leaving them constantly unsatisfied.

An indication that something is going on related to people’s mental health is the growing number of burnout and stress related complaints. These numbers have been slowly increasing of the past years in the Netherlands, from 11% of all employees in 2007 to 13% in 2012 experiences burnout complaints (see Figure 3). This is equal to almost 1 million

Figure 2 - Screenshot from documentary ‘‘Alles wat we wilden” (Domogala, 2010)

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2008 2009 2010

Figure 3 - Number of employees with burnout-complaints, (CBS & TNO, 2011)

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The Delft Institute of Positive Design (DIOPD) initiates and stimulates the development of knowledge that supports designers in their attempts to design for human flourishing. They facilitate research and design projects and collaborate with parties from the industry.

The Trimbos Institute is a centre of expertise on mental health that develops and applies their knowledge for the benefit of the health and quality of life of the Dutch population. One of their programmes focuses on mental fitness. This is a positive psychology based ideology which beliefs people can train and improve their mental health just like physical health can be trained. They have published the book ‘Mental Fitness’ and developed several project based on its principle, such the online course ‘Psyfit’ and the online prevention platform ‘Mentaal Vitaal’, which provide passive advice and awareness for a mentally fit lifestyle. By adopting a conflict perspective on multiple life goals, this project will contribute to the list of mental fitness strategies proposed by Trimbos. Additionally, by creating a “designed” intervention instead of written (online) advice, this project will enhance the effectiveness of the proposed strategies by making them a part of people’s daily lives through designed products and/or services. This will provide Trimbos with a new way of supporting people, using the latest theoretical principles in the field.

Furthermore, this has given us an overwhelming access to information, a constant feed of distractions and comparing possibilities and thereby allows us to constantly update and develop ourselves.

These social trends are believed to especially affect the younger generation, referred to as Generation Y or the ‘performance generation’ (Van Baar, 2014). They have relatively more stress and a lower level of resilience (Passenier, 2012). The book ‘De prestatie generatie’ bij Jeroen van Baar makes a case for being average instead of pursuing excellence. A person’s sensitivity to choice opportunities is also related to a person’s personality type, which distinguishes maximizers from satisficers (Schwarz, 2000).

It becomes apparent that the phenomenon of ‘high strivings’ involves numerous aspects, making it a complex issue. Studying the phenomenon will give insight into its effect on people’s well-being, which is the first step in stimulating a positive change.

Designing for well-beingPsychology has originally concentrated on studying diseases and repairing damage (Seligman, 2000). Rather than merely treating mental illnesses a relatively new branch called positive psychology has emerged. In positive psychology, mental health is perceived as being a combination of a person’s well-being along with low mental illness. It focuses on the study of conditions and processes that contribute to human flourishing and with this knowledge aims to improve people’s everyday lives.

Inspired by positive psychology, the field of design has started to question how design can contribute to people’s well-being. This design approach is referred to as positive design or design for subjective well-being. In positive design, the design’s raison-d’etre is determined by its effect on people’s subjective well-being (Desmet & Pohlmeyer, 2013). Three design ingredients are distinguished: design for pleasure, design for personal significance and design for virtue. The second, design for personal significance, revolves around a person’s goals and aspirations.

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1.2

Approach by conflicting life-goals The social phenomenon of ‘high strivings’ is a complex issue that can be approached from many different angles. This thesis will approach the topic from the theory on conflicting life-goals.

People experience conflicting life-goals when they have multiple strivings, referred to as life-goals, that cannot fully be achieved at a certain moment in time. For instance, you might aim to excell at work, have a high social status, be a good husband, act responsibly, feel healthy and take good care of your kids. Achieving life-goals has been found to produce enhanced wellbeing over time (Brunstein, 1993). Although fulfilling all these goals will contribute to a person’s well-being, they can interfere with each other in certain moments, creating a life-goal conflict (Riedinger, 2004). For example, you might want to prove yourself at work, which requires you to take your work home and consume time at the expense of your family life. People who are able to find and maintain a balance between multiple important life-goals are more likely to experience higher levels of subjective wellbeing than those who have an imbalance (Sirgy & Wu, 2009).

This theory on conflicting life-goals focuses on the dynamics of the people’s emotions and motivations during specific experiences in which people have to deal with multiple strivings. An understanding of these dynamics can be used when aiming to intervene in people’s perception of their own (high) strivings. DIOPD facilitates the on-going PhD project on conflicting concerns carried out by Deger Ozkaramanli (supervisory team mentor). The overall goal of the PhD research is to develop a conflict-driven design approach that can support people in dealing with motivational conflicts. There are different types of conflicting motivations, one of them being the conflict between two opposing yet equally important life-goals. This type of conflict will be the focus of this graduation project and it will yield insights on designing for the balance between conflicting life-goals.

Project goalDesign could support and motivate people in dealing with multiple life-goals. In other words, it can enable people to redefine and adjust their strivings. Therefore, the main goal of this project is to:

“Support people in dealing with high strivings by means of a design intervention, using conflicting life-goals as an appraoch, in order to enhance people’s subjective well-being”.

ViP methodThe Vision in Product Design (ViP) method is applied in this project. This method is context-driven, meaning it aims design meaningful appropriate interactions within a certain context. An understanding of the context is therefore the first step in designing, followed by a clear vision of how the design should bring a new meaningful interaction to the context. The vision formulates the reason of existence of the design, and will therefore be leading during the design phase. For a more detailed explanation of the ViP method, see section 1.4.

This graduation project explores the social phenomenon of ‘high strivings’. It will be approached by

the theory on conflicting life-goals and apply the ViP design method. Here, the approach that has

been taken is presented, as well as the design assignment and the method that has guided the

process.

ASSIGNMENT DESCRIPTION & APPROACH

Figure 4 - Illustration of multiple life-goals people can experience simulaneouly

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The goal of the assignment is to investigate design possibilities for supporting people in dealing

with conflicting life-goals. The starting point is open and explorative and the project finishes with a

representative design intervention. The assignment is framed by the theory on conflicting life-goals.

The project consists of three phases: 1) analysis, 2) design 3) evaluation. The process is inspired by the Vision in Product Design (ViP) method, as illustrated in Figure 5. This figure shows the different levels in which the designer is working. Although the project ends with a design intervention on the product level, the project starts in the context level and pass through the interaction level. By approaching the project from this abstract level, there aren’t yet any restrictions on what the product or design intervention will end up like.

ANALYSIS PHASEFor an overview of the design process, see Figure 6.

Exploring the domainIn the analysis phase, the domain of conflicting life-goals are explored. It starts with a literature study on conflicting life-goals and is followed by a user study on people’s conflict experiences. This phase represents what in the ViP method is referred to as the deconstructing of the current context.

Structuring the domainThe relevant insights into this domain - or context - are structured and concluded into a framework that represents the perspective taken on the domain. This iterative process of structuring is a personal interpretation, but has been simultaneously be discussed with a number of experts to adjust and refine along the way.

DESIGN PHASE

Formulating a visionThe design phase starts of by translating the framework into a design vision. This process is again a personal interpretation and describes how the designer wishes the future context to be.

Designing a conceptAfter formulating a vision for what the design intervention achieve and how this should be achieved, the ideation process starts. By iteratively generating design ideas and refining the guidelines, one concept is be chosen to continue with. This concept is developed further, to detail the design and the scenario of usage.

EVALUATION PHASE

Reflecting on conceptThis effect of the design intervention are validated with an evaluative study. Based on these results, conclusions are drawn and further design recommendations are given.

Insights on process and personal developmentFinally, the insights from the process are discussed. Also, a reflection on my personal development is presented.

DESIGN PROCESS

1.3

context level

interaction level

product level

designingdeconstructing

future contextcurre

nt con

text

interactionnew

product

Figure 5 - Steps in ViP process

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Phase 1 - Analysis

Phase 2 - Design

Phase 3 - Reflection

Research insights

Theory to build from

Contextclusters

Exploring the domain

Structuring the domain

Formulating a vision

Designing a concept

Reflecting on concept

Insights on designing for

mental well-being

Insights on myself as a designer

PHASE GOAL ACTIVITY OUTCOME

Literature researchTo understand what life-goal conflicts are and how they affect people’s well-being

Defining the domain (step 1)To take an approach to the phenomena

User interviewsTo understand how people experience conflicts

Context factors (ViP step 2)To explore the context of people’s conflict experiences

Context structure (ViP step 3)To take a perspective on conflicts and structure the insights

Expert talksTo verify and refine the insights and framework

Developing a vision (ViP step 4-6)To formulate what the design intervention should achieve

IdeationTo explore the design opportunities

Concept guidelinesTo specify the ideation scope and support the concept selection

Concept development (ViP step 7-8)To present a detailed and feasible concept that satisfies the vision

User testingTo validate if the intended effect has been achieved

Process reflectionTo share the insights of this approach and inspire others (designers + psychologists)

Personal reflectionTo reflect on my own learning process and my development as a designer

Perspective& framework

Vision

Concept

Final design

Recommen-dations

Design for mental

well-being

Personalinsights

Figure 6 - Overview of design process

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ANALYSIS PHASE

PART II

This second part of the report presents the analysis, in which the current context of

conflicting life-goals is explored. Chapter 2 - background theory (page 22) explains

what conflicting life-goals are and how they relate to people’s subjective well-being.

In chapter 3 - experiencing conflicting life-goals (page 34) this theory is examined

in a user study and the crucial aspects involved in people’s conflict experience are

extacted from both the user study and further literature. Chapter 4 - the framework

(page 45) describes the process of turning the insights into the current context of

conflict experiences into a personal perspective of how people can constructively deal

with conflicting life-goals. This chapter conclused the analysis phase with a framework

that summarizes the research and forms the starting point for the design phase.

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HOW DO CONFLICTING LIFE-GOALS AFFECT

PEOPLE’S SUBJECTIVE WELL-BEING?

Literature research

Dealing with conflicts

Achieving life-goals

Improving subjective well-being

chapter 2background theory

WHY DO PEOPLE EXPERIENCE CONFLICTING LIFE-GOALS?

User research on conflict situations

Societal characteristics

Situational characteristics

Personal characteristics

Literature research

chapter 3conflicting life-goals

HOW SHOULD PEOPLE DEAL WITH CONFLICTING LIFE-GOALS?

ViP step 2 & 3

Perspective on confllcts& framework

Context factor generation

chapter 4framework

Context clusters

ANALYSIS PHASE:OVERVIEW

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HOW DO CONFLICTING LIFE-GOALS AFFECT

PEOPLE’S SUBJECTIVE WELL-BEING?

Literature research

Dealing with conflicts

Achieving life-goals

Improving subjective well-being

chapter 2background theory

WHY DO PEOPLE EXPERIENCE CONFLICTING LIFE-GOALS?

User research on conflict situations

Societal characteristics

Situational characteristics

Personal characteristics

Literature research

chapter 3conflicting life-goals

HOW SHOULD PEOPLE DEAL WITH CONFLICTING LIFE-GOALS?

ViP step 2 & 3

Perspective on confllcts& framework

Context factor generation

chapter 4framework

Context clusters

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02BACKGROUND THEORY.

This project has been framed by the theory on conflicting life-goals. When experiencing a life-goal conflict, people are confronted with their inability to achieve all their strivings. This chapter presents a literature study on what conflicts and life-goals are and how they affect people’s subjective well-being. This understanding forms the foundation from the user study on experiences of conflicting life-goals, which is presented in the chapter 3.

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SUBJECTIVE WELL-BEING

Definition of subjective well-being Well-being is a general term for the condition of an individual, referring to for instance their physical, psychological and economical state. In this project the focus is on subjective well-being, which is described as what people think and how they feel about their lives. In other words, “to the cognitive and affective conclusions they reach when they evaluate their existence” (Seligman, 2000). Well-being is therefore always a personal interpretation of one’s circumstances. Subjective well-being is often also spoken about as people’s life-satisfaction or happiness.

Theory of happinessThe significance of a person’s interpretation in one’s overall well-being is illustrated in Lyubormirsky’s theory of happiness. This theory distinguishes three factors that determine a person’s happiness: a generic set point (50%), a person’s intentional activities (40%) and a person’s circumstances (10%) (see Figure 7).

This 40% refers to the behaviour and actions we choose to do ourselves. We can manage and adapt our behaviour by changing our mind-set towards our circumstances. Or as the philosophers Democritus and Epictetus have argued: “it is not what happens to people that determines how happy

The overall aim of this project is to improve people’s subjective well-being by supporting people in

dealing with conflicting life-goals. This section explains what subjective well-being is and presents a

number of theories on how it can be achieved. It concludes by explaining why ‘achieving life-goals’ is

a suitable focus for this design project.

they are, but how they interpret what happens” (Seligman, 2000). This subjective interpretation is dynamic and can be adjusted at all times. This presents designers with an opportunity to support people in improving their subjective well-being.

Training your mental fitnessThe training of a person’s mental condition is described by the Trimbos Institute as ‘mental fitness’. They suggest that people can train their mental health, just like people can train their physical health. Additionally, building positive traits and having positive experiences are a preventive technique, as human strength acts as a buffer against mental illness (Fredrickson, 2003). Trimbos’ mental fitness module distinguishes seven principles that aim help people become more conscious of their mental health and thereby make more consistent choices to act in ways that improve their subjective well-being (Bolier, 2010). Among these is the principle to ‘direct your life’, which advices people to formulate realistic missions for yourself and live by them. They point out the importance of finding a balance between challenging yourself and knowing what you can handle.

THEORIES ON SUBJECTIVE WELL-BEING

There are a lot of different theories on how subjective well-being can be achieved, each presenting different descriptions of the aspects involved in a person’s wellbeing. First, Seligman’s theory of happiness will be shortly presented: a well-known theory providing insight into how achieving life-goals relates to a person’s overall well-being.Secondly, the self-determination theory will be explained as this explains the role of motivation and personal development in achieving life-goals.

Seligman’s theory of happinessSeligman’s theory of happiness distinguishes three distinct kinds of happiness: 1) experiencing pleasantness regularly,

IMPROVING SUBJECTIVE WELL-BEING

circumstances

intentionalactivities

genericset-point

10%

50%40%

Figure 7 - 40 % theory of happiness (Lyubormirsky, 2008)

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2) experiencing a high level of engagement in satisfying activities, and 3) experiencing a sense of connectedness to a greater whole see Figure 9 (Seligman, 2002). The first aspect describes momentary experiences of pleasure. Pleasure can be distinguished from enjoyment, as the first focussed on immediate and short-term (hedonic) happiness whereas the latter focuses on long-term (eudemonic) happiness. When given the chance, people often go for pleasure over enjoyment, whilst enjoyment lead to personal growth and more sustainable well-being. The second aspect describes people engagement, level of gratification and experience of flow. This differs from the first aspect, as well-being is hereby achieved by fulfilling a desire regardless of the amount of (dis)pleasure. The third aspect describes how meaningful a person’s life is. Meaningfulness is achieved when people are able to achieve their virtues and goal pursuits. The theory of Seligman proposed that these three dimensions determine together to what extend people are overall satisfied with their lives. Achieving life-goals contributes to the meaningfulness of people’s lives, thereby delivering long-term life-satisfaction.

Self-Determination TheoryThe well-known theory of self-determination (Deci & Ryan, 2000) explains it’s not only the goal attainment itself that determines a person’s wellbeing, but also the motivation behind these goal pursuits. The theory claims that people’s wellbeing and development is optimized when three

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innate psychological human needs are met: the need for competence, the need for belongingness and the need for autonomy (see Figure 8). Competence is described as the degree to which people engage in optimal challenges, develop skills and grow. Belongingness is described as the degree to which people interact and feel connected to others, and experience caring. Autonomy is described as the degree to which people feel like the causal agent of their own life. The fulfilment of these three needs determines to what extend a goal attainment will affect people’s wellbeing. For instance, support from others (belongingness), positive feedback (indicator of competence) and optimal pressure (autonomy) increase the likeliness that a goal pursued will positively affect a person’s well- being.

People’s motivation to behave in certain ways, is thus explained by the degree to which this behaviour will fulfil the three basic human needs. When all three needs are met, people are intrinsically motivated, enabling them to fulfil their to full potential and seek greater challenges, thereby achieving personal growth. People can also be motivated through internalization, which is the process of identifying yourself with social regulations and accepting them as your own, in order to be socially connected. The degree to which values are internalized, defines to what extend a certain behaviour fulfils a person’s needs and thereby contributes to a person’s wellbeing.

Competence

Relatedness Autonomy

Figure 8 -Three innate human needs (Deci & Ryan, 2000)

Pleasure

Engagement Meaning

Figure 9 - Seligman’s theory of happiness (Seligman, 2002)

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DESIGN FOR SUBJECTIVE WELL-BEING

Over the past years, the field of design has been transforming into a more expansive discipline, which believes design can contribute to the happiness of individuals and their satisfaction of life. For this, the term ‘design for subjective well-being’ is used (Desmet & Pohlmeyer, 2013). Desmet and Pohlmeyer propose a framework for positive design, including three main components of subjective well-being, and how design can contribute to them (see Figure 10):

Design for virtue: support people in being a morally good personDesign for pleasure: support people in experiencing positive affectDesign for personal significance: support people in pursuing personal goals

This last component addresses the happiness that comes

from a sense of personal meaning, which is similar to Seligman’s theory of happiness. It focusses on a person’s long- and short-term goals and aspirations, such as running a marathon or getting your diploma. Product can not only help you achieve a goal, such as running shoes helping you to stay healthy, but they can also remind you of your current goals or symbolize your past goals.

When designing for any one of these three components, it’s

important there remains a balance between them. Desmet and Pohlmeyer point out there can be a conflict between these three components. The design should harmonize this conflict to facilitate a balance.

For 40%, people’s well-being is determined by

their own subjective interpretation of their

circumstances. People have the ability to train

and adjust their mind-set and thereby become

more satisfied in life. One aspect of a person’s

well-being is the pursuit and achievement of goals

in your life. Design can contribute to a person’s

ability of achieving their goals.

SUMMARY

Figure 10 - Positive design framework (Desmet & Pohlmeyer, 2013)

Design for

virtue

Design for personal significance

Design for

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2.2

Life-goalsGoals are defined as cognitive representations of desired states (Austin, 1996). They play an important role in guiding action (Kökönyei, 2008). Achieving goals has been found to produce enhanced wellbeing over time (Brunstein, 1993). In literature, goals are often also referred to as strivings or pursuits. The term ‘goal’ is very broad, and can range from small milestones such as ‘achieving a deadline’ to big aspirations such as ‘having a successful career’. To distinguish between different type of goals, there are five different variables that each defines a specific aspect related to the goal (Austin, 1996): 1) Time: the immediacy of the goal attainment; the duration of the goal pursuit2) Commitment: the extend to which a person needs to be committed to a goal in order to attain it3) Difficulty: the degree of difficulty for attaining the goal 4) Consciousness: the degree to which the person is conscious of their goal5) Organization: the level of abstractness in a goal hierarchy; the extend to which there is a more abstract description of the goal.

Within this project, the focus will be on one specific type of goals, which will be referred to as ‘life-goals’. Life-goals are what people sub-consciously pursuit throughout their lives. Examples would be belongingness (building and maintaining

intimate relationships), individuality (feeling unique), mastery (achieving challenges) and safety (‘being unharmed’). Looking at the variables, they can be classified as scoring high on time, commitment, difficulty and organization, and low on consciousness (see Figure 11). Life-goals are never fully achieved; they all need to be constantly pursued to a certain extend thoughout a person’s life.

Overview of life-goalsFord attempted to structure and organize all these abstract human goals in an goal taxonomy (see Appendix B1). The list of goals is proposed as a complete overview of all these abstract goals people have throughout their lives and distinguish themselves from each other in their goals content. This goal taxonomy of Ford has been used as an inspiration within this project to distinguish and address different types of life-goals.

Goal hierarchyLife-goals express themselves thoughout people’s daily lives in more specific and concrete goals and activities. When taking for instance the life-goal mastery, we can recognize different levels of more specific sub-goals related to this (see Figure 12). You might strive to build a succesful career in order to fulfil this life-goal, but you might have also decided to fulfill this life-goal by developing your cooking skills. In order to build a succesful career, you might at some point

ACHIEVING LIFE-GOALS

One aspect involved in people’s well-being is the achievement of their life-goals. This aspect will be

the focus in this project. First will be explained what life-goals are. Next, a goal hierarchy will be

presented. Finally, it will be described how multiple goals relate to each other and how this affects

a person’s well-being.

Time Commitment Difficulty Conciousness Organization

Long-term High High Implicit HighVariables of a life-goal

Figure 11 - Goal variables (Austin, 1996)

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have to pass certain exams and finish deadlines on time. These are more specific goals you experience in a certain moment and either achieve or fail to achieve. Life-goals explain why you desire to achieve them.

Balancing goalsAlthough Seligman’s theory on happiness explains how achieving life-goals is crucial for people’s subjective wellbeing, Sirgy and Wu propose that one important criterion is missing in his theory of happiness, namely achieving balance in life. They define balance as a state reflecting satisfaction or fulfillment in several important domains with

little or no negative affect in other domains. A conflict occurs when one domain consumes resources needed in another domain. They therefore propose there is a satisfaction limit to each domain. Satisfaction form one life domain can contribute only a limited amount of positive affect to subjective well-being. Overall life satisfaction can thus only be obtained when people are satisfied to a certain extend within all life domains (see Figure 13). Satisfaction within one domain cannot compensate for the lack of satisfaction within another domain. This is an important aspect to take into account when designing for well-being, as supporting people in achieving certain goals within one domain will not contribute per-se to overall life satisfaction without taking into account affect on other life domains.People have multiple life-goals at one time. For instance, you might aspire to have a successful career, to take good care of your family, and also find it important to maintain a healthy lifestyle, and to regularly spend time with your close friends. However, these goals are not independent, and can facilitate or interfere with one another (Riedinger, 2004). When goals interfere, people experience a conflict.

High

Life-goal

Low

Mastery

Get bossto like me

Finish adeadline etc.

Hierarchy of goals

Succesful career

etc.Develop cooking skills

Figure 12 - Example of an hierarchy of human goals

Maximal overall

Maximal per goal

Satis

fact

ion

Life-goalsFigure 13 - Satisfaction limits (Sirgy & Wu, 2007)

Achieving life-goals is a significant aspect of

people’s subjective well-being. Life-goals refer to

the desired states that motivate people to pursuit

all their goals and activities they experience

throughout their daily lives. However, as people

have can multiple goals at one time, they have to

balance these in order to fulfill each of them to

a certain extend. The satisfaction limit describes

the maximum level to which one life-goal can be

fulfilled, without negatively effecting the pursuit

of a person’s other life-goals.

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2.3

DEALING WITH LIFE-GOAL CONFLICTS

SOURCE OF CONFLICT

Goals interfere when they require more of the same limited resource available or when strategies for attaining the different goals are incompatible (Riedinger, 2004). These interferences can be divided into three sources: 1) time, 2) strain or energy and 3) behaviour (see Figure 14). For time conflicts, limited time is the source of the conflict. For energy conflict, a lack of energy or too much strain is the source of the conflict. For behaviour conflict, the two required behaviour are opposing and exclude each other.

MODEL FOR LIFE-GOAL CONFLICTS

Conflicting concernsConflict experiences can be better understood by looking at the components that are involved. In her PhD-research, Deger Ozkaramanli recognizes three relevant components in confllict experiences: actions, motivations and emotions (Ozkaramanli, 2012). A basic scenario for conflict experiences represents the relation between these components (see Figure 15). It shows people have to choose between two mutually exclusive action alternatives which are associatied with certain costs and gains involved. The different goals determine people’s motivation to choose one action over the other. A blend of positive and negative emotions will be elicited by either one of the choices.

Role of design in life-goal conflictsThis model is based on virtue-temptation conflicts but can be applied to life-goal conflicts as well, as in both situations people experience conflicting concerns. However, there is an important difference between these two conflict types in the way the design should intervene.

In virtue-temptation conflict the temptation is more appealing to the person, as the virtue requires future investments from the person whereas a tempation gives immediate rewards. For instance, a person might feel a conflict between taking a candy (temptation) and eating healthy (virtue). In such conflicts, people tend to easily choose the temptation over the virtue. By influencing the emotions involved, a design intervention can make the virtue-driven behaviour - eating healthy - more appealing.

For conflicting life-goals, the two opposing goals are already equally important. Here, the role of design is not to present one alternative as more appealing than the other. Rather, a design intervention should support people in making a (concious) choice between the two. Often people have developed behavioural routines which they no longer question. This learned or habitual behaviour can become

Pursuing and achieving life-goals improve people’s well-being, unless there is interference between

multiple life-goals. This results in a conflict, forcing people to choose between the goals. This

section explains how life-goal conflicts work and how people cope with them.

Time Energy Behaviour

Figure 14 -Sources of conflicts (Greenhaus & Beutell, 1985)

Action A Action B

Positive emotion

Negative emotion

Positive emotion

Negative emotion

Motivation Motivation

Figure 15 - Model of a conflict experience, based on Ozkaramanli, 2012

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also interfere with work responsibilities (Marchese, 2002). The perceived directionality can influence the experience of the conflict.

Salience & sanctionsConflicts differ in the extend to which they affect a person’s wellbeing. When certain activities are salient to a person’s self-concept or when there are strong negative sanctions for not meeting the demands of an activity, people’s wellbeing will be more strongly affected (Greenhaus & Beutell, 1985). This determines to what extend the conflict affects a person’s subjective well-being.

counterproductive. Raising awareness to the conflict can help people to consciously choose the behaviour they believe would be best for them.

Terminology in this projectFigure 16 shows how the different terminologies are used in this project and how they are related. The illustration is based on the original model of conflict experiences. Here, the two opposing actions will be referred to as activities. The motivation behind these activities is described by the underlying life-goals and its corresponding domain. Furthermore, the illustration shows the source of the conflict: which requirements are incompatible. An example of two conflicting activities might be ‘succesfully graduating’ and ‘spending time with friends’. Their underlying life-goals are ‘mastery’ and ‘belongingness’, within respectively the domains ‘work’ and ‘friends’. The two activities might be incompatible due to a lack of time, and will therefore be experienced as a conflict.

Use of domainsIn literature, conflicts are often described to occur between different roles or within different domains. Examples would be employee (role) or work (domain), and parent (role) or family (domain). As roles and domains are more easily for people to identify in their lives that life-goals, they are better able to recall conflicts between roles or domains instead of conflicts between life-goals. Therefore, in the user study on conflict experiences, participants will be asked about conflicts between different domains. In the analysis of these conflict, the researcher will interpret these and present them with the corresponding life-goals. Examples of domains that people could distinguish in their lives are work, family, health, friends and hobbies.

IMPACT OF CONFLICTSBesides the magnitude of the conflict itself, there are a few other aspects that determine to what extend the conflict influences a person’s subjective well-being.

DirectionalityConflicts have a perceived directionality (Greenhaus & Beutell, 1985), as people will attribute one of the two pressures to be interfering with the other. For instance, work can be interfering with family life, but family life can

Resources required to achieve multiple life-goals

- such as time, enery and behaviour strategies -

are often limited, resulting in a conflict. Conflict

experiences involve behavior alternatives,

underlying motivations and mixed emotions.

For life-goal conflicts, a design intervention can

support people by making people more conscious

of their action alternatives, so people can make

a more considerate choice for the behaviour they

believe is best for them.

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Domain

Life-goal

Activity

Requirement

Action A Action B

Time with friends

Succesfulgraduation

IncompatibleTime

Behaviour

Energy

Time

Behaviour

Energy

conflict

Work

Mastery

Friends

Belonging

Figure 16 - Illustration of relation between terminology

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2.4

IMPACT OF LIFE-GOAL CONFLICT ON WELL-BEING

Impact of conflicting life-goalsConflicts are generally seen as negative experiences that need to be prevented. They indeed negatively affect people’s wellbeing on the short-term, as they inhibit people from pursuing their life-goals. They are also a source of stress and are associated with psychological complaints such as neuroticism and depression (Emmons, 1988). However, the extend to which a conflict affects a person’s feeling of satisfaction is greatly influenced by a person’s coping strategy, as this has a more powerful effect than the magnitude of the conflict itself (Kopelman et al, 1983). For a person’s subjective well-being, the ability of finding successful strategies for dealing with a conflict is therefore more relevant than the experience of conflicts itself.

A succesful coping strategy can even turn the negative short-term impact of conflicts into positive developmental benefits on the long-term. Reconciliation of opposing tendencies has long been believed to be a premier goal of human development (Emmons, 1988). In other words, dealing with a conflict constructively contributes to a person’s development. This idea is supported by the fact that older people experience fewer conflicts than younger people (Riedinger, 2008). They have been able to develop their competences from previous conflicts and have learned to focus more on subjectively important life-goals. Because of the potential to develop your competences, conflicts can be considered to be desirable as they allow people to improve their subjective wellbeing.

Opportunity for growthPeople strive to live up to their highest potential and constantly aim to improve themselves. Conflicts allow people to optimally function by making them aware of their life-goals and their limits. People will only grow from conflicts when they constructively deal with the conflicts, by adapting their aims or improve their skills.

Conflicts can therefore be seen as an opportunity for growth and development (see Figure 17). They make people aware of their ‘zone of competences’: the range of skills they posess with which they can pursue their life-goals (simultaneously). Conflicts help people identify the boundaries of their skills. This is the first step to extending your boundaries, with the aim to be able to take on more and more fuller pursue your life-goals.

The previous sections explain how conflicting life-goals negatively impact people’s subjective well-

being on the short-term, as they are inhibited from fulfilling all their strivings. However, conflicting

life-goals can have a positive influence on people’s subjective well-being as well. This section

explains when and how life-goals do so.

Dealing with a conflict constructively contributes

to a person’s development. Conflicts can therefore

be seen as an opportunity for growth and

development.

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zone of competences

grow & improve

conflict

conflict

Figure 17 - Illustration of how conflicts allow for growth of competences

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CHAPTER

To get a better understanding of and empathize with people’s experience of life-goal conflicts, the theory on conflicting life-goals - as presented in the previous chapter - is further studied with a user study. In section 3.1 the setup of this user study is explained. The following section 3.2 gives an overview of different aspects that either cause or define people’s experience of life-goal conflicts. These aspects origin from both the user study as well as additional literature research.

EXPERIENCING CONFLICTING LIFE-GOALS.

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professional, 1 young adult who recently had a burnout, 1 middle-aged women with adult children and the rest working parents. All participants are referred to by a different name, to assure their privacy.

Booklet diaryThe booklet ‘My life & coping with choices’ consists of small exercises spread out over three days (see Appendix B2 for booklet example). Day 1 focussed on important aspects in people lives. In the first exercise, people had to write in a circle what is important to them (their life-goals), placing the most important things closest to the center. The second exercise

3.1

In this section, the user study aimed at gaining a better understanding of how people experience

conflicts in their daily lives, is presented. First, the procedure and data analysis is explained. Next, a

few examples of specific conflict situations are presented, to get a feeling of the range of conflicts

people experience in their lives. Afterwards, the aspects found in the user study that influence

conflicts are presented in three categories: individual aspects, conflict aspects and external

aspects. Where possible, evidence from literature is added to support the aspects.

INTRODUCTIONThe aim of the user study is mainly to increase the understanding of people’s experience of life-goal conflicts and empathize with such experiences. This should give an impression of the kind of conflicts people experience, their coping strategies and the specific context in which the conflict occurs. Combined with the literature research the results from this user study will form the input for context factor generation, which is the starting point of developing a framework and a design vision.

Research questions The research questions which this study will investigate are:

What are the life-goal conflicts that people experience in their everyday life? What are the strategies have people developed for coping with conficts?What aspects influence people’s conflict experiences?

PROCEDUREThe user study consists of two parts: a booklet diary (see Figure 18) and an interview session. Each participant received a booklet about four days before the interview. The goal of the booklets is to let the participants think about their life-goal conflict experiences prior to the interview. It’s a way to warm them up and also enables the researcher to structure the interview beforehand. The interviews lasted for about 45 minutes.

ParticipantsEight participants of diverse backgrounds were recruited to take part in the user study. In the selection of participants, the main concern was diversity of gender, generation, life phase and family setting. The final group of participants consisted of 5 females and 3 males, of which 1 young

USER STUDY ON LIFE-GOAL CONFLICT EXPERIENCES

Figure 18 - Overview of booklet diaries

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45 minutes and took place in the home residence or office space of the participant. The aim of the interviews was to discuss specific conflict moments and get to the bottom of why people experienced this conflict, how it affected their emotions and wellbeing and how they eventually dealt with it. The interviews have been recorded and transliterated.

DATA ANALYSIS & RESULTSFor each participant, a profile has been created summarizing the most inspiring information, quotes and conflicts experienced, to facilitate quick communication and empathizing with the participant. These overviews can be found in Appendix B3, giving an impression of the diversity of the participants. Appendix B4 explains the type of conflicts people experienced. A few are presented in Figure 20.

Conflict experiencesAll the conflict experiences that had been discussed during the interview have been structured into the conflict diagram, as presented in section 2.3. Here are a couple of examples,

was to pick the three most important life-goals and explain what they would actively do to satisfy these. The goal of these exercises was to make people aware of what is important to them. Day 2 focussed on specific conflicts. People had to think of three situations in which they experienced lack of time, a lack of energy or contradicting behaviour. The goals was to make people recall several life-goal conflict experiences, which would help them retreive such situations more easily and vividly during the interviews. On day 3 people had to fill in a scheme of how work and relationship conflict with each other in different ways. The aim was to focus a bit more on conflicts people experience during their daily lifes are between work and relationships. Figure 19 shows a couple of examples of what participants have filled in their booklets.

Interview sessionsA couple of days after completing the booklet, each participant was interviewed. The interview lasted for about

Figure 19 - Examples of filled in booklets.

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Mastery

Accept every work

opportunity

Time

OVERLOAD OF JOB OPPORTUNITIES

Settinglimitations

Tranquility

“I had a article pushined in a magazine which led to a a lot of work offers. I felt like I shouldn’t miss

out on any opportunities and tried to manage a job with several freelance projects.” [situation]

“I continued until I had a burnout. Now I’m starting to learn my self-worth is not fully dependent on my

career performance.” [coping strategy]

”At one time my mother was ill, my kid started school and I had a deadline at work. I constantly

had to shift focus and organize, which took a lot of energy.” [situation]

“I managed all three, but afterwards the neglectance of myself and my friends backslashed

at me. I had to compensate for quite a while.” [situation]

Harmony

Don’t say anything

Behaviour

COMMUNICATE WITH BOSS

Share myfeelings

Tranquility

“At work something was bothering me, but I was afraid to discuss it with my boss. I wanted to stand

up for myself, but didn’t want to not hurt others.” [situation]

“I would go over the incident over and over in my head at night. Eventually I prepared a talk on paper and talked to my boss about it.” [coping strategy]

Superiority

Perform at work

Time

DADDY-DAY

Bond with my child

Belonging

“I used to have a day off each week to spend time with my child. I was expected to still take on client calls and would complete work to keep up with my full-time working collegues. I felt bad for not having

my full attention for my child.” [situation]

“I seeked advice at my dad. Eventually I changed jobs so I can spend time see my child grow up.”

[coping strategy]

Figure 20 - Examples of conflict experiences

Management

Attention to all three matters

Time

MANAGING A CRISIS SITUATION

Time for myself& friends

Relaxation

”At one time my mother was ill, my kid started school and I had a deadline at work. I constantly

had to shift focus and organize, which took a lot of energy.” [situation]

“I managed all three, but afterwards the neglectance of myself and my friends backslashed

at me. I had to compensate for quite a while.” [situation]

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“I used to have a day off each week to spend time with my child. I was expected to still take on client calls and would complete work to keep up with my full-time working collegues. I felt bad for not having

my full attention for my child.” [situation]

“I seeked advice at my dad. Eventually I changed jobs so I can spend time see my child grow up.”

[coping strategy]

Positive self-evaluation

Doing alltasks

Energy

LESS ENERGY AFTER BABY

Giving up on tasks

Tranquility

“I told myself I should continue all my hobbies after having my baby, because I did have the time for it. However, I for a long time I didn’t want to accept

that I lacked the energy.” [situation]

“Accepting energy as a valid constraint.” [coping strategy]

illustrating how these conflicts have been analysed. It illustrates which two opposing activities create a conflict, the corresponding life-goals that make these activities important to the person and what type of conflict it is. A short description of the conflict is given including the coping strategy that has been taken.

CONCLUSIONSHere is a conclution of the three research questions.

What conflicts do people experience?In appendix X an overview of all the conflicts are presented. There is a high diversity in the conflict experiences, but generally it could be concluded that there are quite many conflicts that involve ‘belongingness’ and ‘management’.

What coping strategies have people developed?Again, the strategies are so diverse that little conclusion can be drawn. What is interesting to point out, is that some people have not found a coping strategy yet and still struggle with the conflict. Also, people seemed to have less conflicts after getting settled and having kids.

What aspects influence people’s conflict experiences?Different aspects have been identified that influenced people’s experience. These aspects either refer to personality aspects that determine how people interpret and deal with the conflict, or refer to characteristics of the conflict situation itself. Section 3.3 presents an overview of these factors, including social aspects that have been found in literature.

There was a high diversity of conflict experiences

and coping strategies people developed for each

of them. There is a large diversity in the type

of life-goal conflict experiences and the type

of life-goals involved. People’s experience of a

conflict and their coping strategies were mostly

influenced by certain personality aspects and

sometimes by situational differences as well.

SUMMARY

Management

Saying ‘no’ to my

daughter

Behaviour

DEMANDING DAUGTHER

Adjusting my schedule

Belonging

“My daughter can demand a lot of attention and I’m afraid to say ‘no’ to her.” [situation]

“I reset my plans to be there for her. I avoid confrontation, because my relationship with her is

more important to me.” [coping strategy]

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3.2

ASPECTS INVOLVED IN CONFLICT EXPERIENCES

PSYCHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS

From the user interviews a number of aspects have been extracted that effects people’s proneness to conflicts and / or the way people deal with conflicts. A corresponding quote from the interviews is presented with each aspect. Some of these aspects can be related to the Big Five Personality Dimensions (Hamburger & Bergsma, 2011), which identify five dimensions in a persons character.

Setting strivings & recognizing limits> How high a person sets his strivings for each life-goal. [Fleur:“I was afraid to waste my competences and had to prove myself”] [Jorik: “I’m short on time, and therefore feel like I should spend my precious time as good as possible.”]> How well people are able to recognize limits in their strivings. [Marieke: “I expected of myself to have the same amount of energy for my hobbies after having kids. It made me feel lazy that I wasn’t to keep that up.”]

Goal awareness & goal-mindedness> The extend to which a person can explain to himself what his goals are. [Fleur: “Realizing my priorities helped me make more concious choices.”]> How well the person is able to follow through on his goals. [Wina: “I still cannot say ‘no’ to my grown-up daughter. When she demands attention, I drop all the plans I had for that day.”] This aspect is similar to the dimension ‘conscientiousness’ from the Big Five personality dimensions.

Making realistic estimations> Knowing what resources are demanded for each activity. [Elina: “I often tend to underestimate the time of activities, so that in the end I have too much to do.”]

Comparing yourself others> How much you are dependent on a comparing to define your own aims. [Fleur: “I felt the need to compare myself to others, in order define my own norms accordingly.”]

Sensitivity to others> How much you are oriented on what others expect. [Wina: ““My door is always open for friends and family. I’d rather let go of other things to be there for them.”] This aspect is similar to the dimension ‘agreeableness’ from the Big Five personality dimensions.

Being now-oriented> Ability to stay in the present, sensitivity to rumination, and resilience [Joop: “Sometimes I’m distracted at work by something that is on my mind.”] This aspect is similar to the dimension ‘neuroticism’ from the Big Five personality dimensions.

Openness> Open to new ideas and experiences. [Andrew: “When there is a big change in my life, it takes some time to adjust to it”] This aspect is similar to the dimension ‘openness’ from the Big Five personality dimensions.

Positivity> How much you focus on the gains or the losses after a decision. [Jorik: “If I make a choice and it turns out to be disappointing, I feel like I should have made another choice.”]

Being in charge & keeping control> Accepting that some things are outside of your influence. [Andrew: “Sometimes I just make a decision, even though I can only know in retrospect if it was the right choice. I just get on with it.”]> Whether planning or keeping options open gives you more sense of control. [Sylvia: “I need to know what I’m up to. I need to have a structure, a routine, otherwise I get lost.”]

> Whether you allow a confrontation: facing a conflict immediately or postponing it. [Marieke: “You can’t neglect a conflict, it always comes back. I might force myself to go to yoga today, but then I’ll be tired tomorrow at work.”]

Coping with choice> A person’s sensitivity to choose opportunities is also

Certain aspects identified in the interviews refer to psychological and individual characteristics that

influence life-goal conflict experiences. They illustrate which aspects make people more prone to

conflicts than others.

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But this often leads to neglecting it for too long.”] [Joop: “I regularly get distracted by urgent matters. I than postpone important tasks to a later moment. I wish I didn’t have to but I feel like I have no choice.”]

Scarcity> People act differently when they experience scarcity (Mullainathan, 2013). Scarcity occurs when there is a lack of resources, such as money or time, or too high expectations. People who experience scarcity are better at managing short-term problems. This is a convenient quality for poor people who have to pay a bill and managers who have to get a target.But the downside is that the focus on short-term worsens a person’s long term perspective. Their ‘bandwidth’ is decreased, resulting in a tunnel vision. Feeling pressured by a conflict, because of a scarcity of time, energy, or behaviour options will decrease a person’s ability to make considerate decisions that contribute to their development and wellbeing on the long-run. The scarcity-phenomena is believed to be relevant in the political discussion on poverty-prevention but can also be relevant in social discussion on mental wellbeing of individuals. ,

SOCIETAL TRENDS & DEVELOPMENTS

To give a complete overview of the aspects that influence people’s proneness to conflicts and affect their coping strategies, a number of social trends and developments will be discussed here. They illustrate how our modern Western society affects people’s mindset and behaviour to a certain extend. Similarly to situational aspects, these aspects are not within a person’s influence to change. As these are general aspects (unlike the situational aspects that are related to a specific conflict), they clarify why people seem to be experiencing more conflicts nowadays.

Increased strivingsToday’s social system in Western countries can be described as a meritocracy, a system based on talents and measured in achievement, where it is believed that everybody deserves their own status (de Botton, 2011). This mind-set differs from older social systems such as aristocracy and different cultures such as the caste system in India, where people are born within a certain unchangeable hierarchy that justified

affected by one’s personality type, in which maximizers from satisficers are distinguished (Schwarz, 2000).

SITUATIONAL DIFFERENCES

Certain aspects related to the situation in which the conflict has been experienced, turned out to be of influence to the way people experience and deal with the conflict. These aspects are shortly explained here. Additionally, the aspect of scarcity is explained, which has been explained in literature to affect people’s perception and behaviour related to conflicts. Contrary to personal characteristics, these aspect are not within a person’s influence to change.

Immediacy of consequences> How immediate after your decision you will experience its consequences. [Elina: “My priorities switch constantly during the day. Urgent activities often have to go first, so the rest gets postponed.”] [Elina: “If I neglect certain activities for a while, they will eventually come back. Responsibilities never go away.”]

Duration of conflict> How long the situation will last, how big the investment is that you need to make. [Wina: “It isn’t that hard for me to finish garden-work, because I knew it was only temporal, I just needed to invest a while in it.”]

Unexpectedness> Whether you can see the conflict coming. [Elina: “Sometimes I cannot predict that I will be busy, some things just come all together at once, unexpected.”] [Sylvia: “I know the December month is more busy at work, so I have time to prepare for it”]

Concrete consequences> How clear and concrete the result is of choosing one activity over the other. [Wina: ““When I have a clear goal and deadline for my painting or exercising, I’m able to commit better to it.”]

Flexibility of activities> Whether the activity can be postponed or whether there are alternative ways to achieve the goal. [Jorik: “If an activity can be done at another moment in time, I easily postpone it.

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own focus. “We act like a computer: mechanical, without the ability to hesitate and reflect and perform any higher activity” (Han, 2012). He believes people need to learn to postpone a response and take more time in between, as he quotes Walter Benjamin: “If sleep is the zenith of psychical relaxation, boredom is the zenith of mental relaxation”. The ability to reflect could enable people to steer their own life and recognize what is most important to them, which could help reduce conflicts.

Changing work demandsBesides people’s own increased expectations, work demands have changed and increased over the past decades. Work situation has changed from being a duty with potential danger for people’s wellbeing to being meaningful which contributes to people’s wellbeing. Although this has led to more possibilities, it also demands more from a person’s competences and skills and increases the mental pressure (Bergsma, 2013). For instance, work has become more flexible and demands people to take responsibility and continuously learn. Initiative, responsibility, social and communicative skills and being able to set your own boundaries are a few of the skills and competences that are more and more demanded within people their jobs. Developing these skills and competences can demand a lot of energy, time and specific behaviour that can conflict with other life domains.

inequality. Unlike these other system’s, in today’s Western society people’s self-worth is greatly dependent on people’s success and social status. This pressures people to have high strivings within multiple domains. For instance, people might believe they need to be busy with a fulfilling and succesful job and constantly be engagement in activities they are passionate about, in order to be happy. The general mentality is that being busy is good - as can be seen in many popular media (e.g. de Greef, 2013) - and we should all live up to our highest potential. People compare themselves to others to define what is normal to demand of themselves. However, social media such as Facebook and Twitter as well as mass media such as magazines and tv-programmes tend to portray only the most successful moments and people (Haring, 2007). This gives people deformed expectations for their own life. Strivings which are too high increase the change of conflicts, as requirements are more often incompatible.

Overload of freedomNowadays, people experience a lot less social constraints than people did a couple of decades ago. For instance, family settings are becoming more diverse as dual families grow and more mothers work (Marchese, 2002). People have the freedom to live their lives according to their own believes and can make more autonomous choices. Although autonomy is one of the three innate human needs proposed in the self-determination theory, the emphasis on autonomy in our culture is proposed to result in an excess of freedom that may lead to dissatisfaction and depression (Schwartz, 2000). The burden of responsibility from many autonomous choices is can become very heavy. Too much freedom of choice produces strain. People need (cultural) constraints to lead a meaningful and satisfying life.

Overload of stimuliToday’s society has an overload of stimuli and people lack the ability to resist this (Han, 2102). Developments such as globalization, the expansion of Internet, mobile communication and social media have enabled people to be connected to other people everywhere and at any time. Technological changes are rapidly following each other; what is new today is already old tomorrow. The Korean philosopher Byung-Chul Han believes people are unable today to contemplate and reflect or guide their

If and to what extend people experience conflict,

as well as how they cope with it, can be clarified

by their psychological characteristics, situational

differences and social trends and developments.

Whereas people cannot influence these last two,

people can to some extend learn to develop their

personal characteristics. This presents a design

opportunity to supprot people in developing their

personal characteristics, in order to deal with

conflicts more constructively.

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Changing work demands

Immediacyof consequences

Unexpectedness

Concreteness of consequences

Scarcity

Flexibility of activities

Duration of conflict

Setting strivings & limits

Comparing toothers

Goal awareness& mindedness

Realistic estimations

Beingnow-oriented

Sensitivity toothers

Openness

Positivity

Being in charge& keeping

control

Coping with choice

Overload of stimuli

Increased strivings

Overload of freedom

Psychological characteristics Situational differences Societal trends & developments

Figure 24 - Aspects involved in people’s experiences of conflicts

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This chapter structures the insights gained during the research phase and puts it into a personal perspective on people’s life-goal conflict experiences. The first sections 4.1 describea the process of structuring the insights into a series of clusters, each representing a different theme involved in conflict experiences. The last two chapters 4.2 and 4.3 explain the perspective that is taken based on these clusters, and is summarized in a graph and a framework.

FRAMEWORK OF CONFLICTS.

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Context factor generationThe starting point of any design process is understanding the current context. The research phase has already brought a lot of understanding about the context, but the insights gained still need to be structured and related to one another. This is achieved by formulating all insights into so-called context factors that will afterwards be structured into clusters.

Context factors are observations on the current context of a certain issue - in this project being peopel’s conflict experiences. These factors can be found within different fields, such as biological, evolutionary, cultural, demographic, technological, sociological and economical factors. The factors can also be structured according to trends, developments, states, and principles, referring to the time universality of the factor. To generate factors systematically, a grid can be followed (see Figure 25).

During the research phase, all the insights gained have immediately been formulated as a context factor and placed into the corresponding box of the grid. Next to that, the grid has been complemented with more context factors that do not directly come from the research phase but are believed to be possibly relevant for the context of conflict experiences.

In Appendix B5, an overview of all the context factors can be found including a reference to their sources.

This section explains the first step of the ViP-process: the generation of context factors. Context

factors are objective statements about the context of conflict experiences. All these statements

together can then be clustered into groups with a similar theme. Together these two steps form a

structured process of translating all the insights - both gained from the research phase and from

general knowlegde - that relate to people’s conflict experiences.

Clustering the factorsThe context factors are an unstructed group of statements about the current context of conflict experiences. To get a grasp of them, they have been structured into clusters. These clusters are groups of factors that have a relationship to each other. The clustering is an intuitive and iterative process (see Figure 26).

Eight clusters have been formed that group context factors and each explain the relation between them. An overview of the clusters and the context factors that belong to each cluster can be found in Appendix B5. The following pages show an overview of the clusters with a short explanation of each cluster and a few of the most crucial context factors they have been distilled from.

CONTEXT FACTORS & CLUSTERING

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Figure 25 - Grid for context factor generation, including several examples

Figure 26 - Process of clustering the contect factors

Biological Demographic Technical Evolutionary Cultural Sociological Economical PsychologicalTr

ends

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Not knowing what will happen makes

people feel stressed.

Too much freedom of choice produces

strain.

Social media enables people to

communicate their successes.

People do not want to hurt other people’s

feelings.

Urgent activities that can only be done in that

moment, get priority over important but non-urgent tasks.

Being busy is perceived as good.

Work has become a more mentally

instead of physically challenging task.

Intrinsic motivation provides greater satisfaction than

extrinsic motivation

The mind can be trained just like the body can be trained.

The older people are, the more experienced they are in combining

all aspects.

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Description of clusterWell-being is a matter of perception. People need to be able to reflect in order to re-evaluate their situation.Changing perspectives helps people overlook their situation and make better judgements and decisions.

Experiencing a lack of time or energy leads to a tunnel vision, in which the immediate gains are better perceived than the long-term benefits. People’s openness to

new experiences describes the degree of curiosity and variety they are comfortable with.

Several related context factors40% of a person’s happiness is defined by how you think People recognize losses more easily than gainsDisruptions of a person’s daily routine allow people to re-evaluate their life

STEPPING BACK

Description of clusterPeople strive to live up to their highest potential. It can therefore be hard for people to accept limitations.

Several related context factorsHumans are naturally active and growth-oriented Being busy is perceived as good

People treasure conflict, as it makes them feel importantPeople get used to their achievements,Giving up on tasks or asking for help is seen as a sign of weakness Lowering your expectations provides equal satisfaction as achieving them

FRICTION FOR GROWTH

Description of clusterPeople feel the need to be connected to others. Other people can either support or restraint you.

In the self-determination theory, this need is referred to as ‘belongingness’. People are naturally inclined towards pleasing others and internalizing themselves into larger social structures. A person’s tendency to be compassionate and

cooperative towards others, is decribed as their agreeableness.

Several related context factorsSympathy from others helps you cope with difficult situations People fear being judged by others, but are dependent or judgements as well Saying ‘yes’ makes people think they are more lovable

OTHERS’ ORIENTED

Description of clusterPeople often are not concious of their goals or are not able to follow through on them. Choices are based on the consequences of each action, but immediate consequences are often chosen before long-term consequences. Flexible activities are not easily postponed.

Several related context factorsUrgent matters get prioritized over important mattersKnowing is not the same as doing People wit a mission to pursue, are more satisfied in life, no matter the circumstances

PRIORITIZING

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Description of clusterPeople compare themselves to others, in order to define their strivings. Social and mass media cause people to develop unrealistic strivings.

People need to compare their own behaviour to other people to be able to set their own norms accordingly. Referencing allows people to internalize or reject certain values. In today’s society, people risk developing unrealisitic references (due to

idealistic portray’s of other people’s lives in social and mass media) or experience a lack of reference (due to blurred social roles).

Several related context factorsPeople use others as a point of reference, to justify their own actions Communication tools enable people to compare themselves to anyoneWork and family roles are nowadays less defined and have become more diverse

FRAME OF REFERENCE

Description of clusterPeople need both freedom to make their own decisions and constraints to persevere on their goals. An overload of freedom produces strain and makes it harder to follow through on your goals. Today, people have fewer social restrictions and more opportunities than previous generations.

Several related context factorsToo much freedom of choice produces strainGlobalisation has led to the experience of the world as one global villageYoung adults have been raised to belief anything is possibleRestrictions make it easier to make the right choices

CONSTRAINED FREEDOM

Description of clusterThe degree to which a conflict affects a person’s wellbeing, depends on his/her ability to accept life as it is. A non-judgemental state of mind which focusses on the present (mindfulness) and the ability to positively adjust to adversity in the past (resilience) contribute to a person’s emotional stability.

Several related context factorsSome people are more prone to negative emotions than other peopleFocussing on the past or future (ruminations and worry) allows for cautiousness, but can eventually interfere in your well-being.

EMOTIONAL STABILITY

Description of clusterPeople need to feel in control over their lives. The degree to which they are able to do so, determines how well they cope with uncertainty and are able to adapt to changes. Conscienciousness describes people’s tendency to be organized and prefer planned over spontaneous behaviour.

Several related context factorsPeople like to feel like the causal agent of their own actionPeople try to control more that they can influenceThe need for control comes from a fear of the unknown and fear or failure

BEING IN CHARGE

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Optimal functioningIn order to optimally function, people’s strivings need to be in line with their competences (see Figure 28). If people strive for more than they can handle, they will not be able to optimally pursue their life-goals (situation A). Contrary to this, people who strive for less than they can to handle, would be able to do more to optimally pursue their life-goals, but fail to do so (situation C). Both indicate an extreme inbalance between people’s strivings and competences that can be an indication of a mental health complaint. However, most people manage to balance their strivings and competences quite well overall in their lives, but still have moments of imbalance due to for instance unexpected changes or feeling stuck (situation B).

Three types of situationsAs explained in the previous paragraph, three situations can be distinguished in which people experience a conflict. To get a better understanding of how strivings and competences relate, these three situations will be explained in more detail (see also Figure 27). Each of these situations has a different way in which can be constructively dealt with the conflict. How each situation is characterized and how a person can constructively deal with the conflict in each of these situation, is explained in the following illustration.

As type A and C are most extreme and come close to mental health complaints such as burnout (for type A) and depression or anxiety (type C), a more suitable solution in these situations would be more direct counseling or psychological treatments. Type B, which explains more every-day situations in which people experience conflicts, is more interesting to look at from a design perspective, as in these situations a subtle design intervention could be useful.

4.2

THREE SITUATIONS OF LIFE-GOALS CONFLICTS

Figure 27 - Three situations

A KNOWING YOUR LIMITS - These people strive to do more than they can handle. To optimally grow, they first need to learn to be realistic, let go and accept limitations.

BMANAGE IT - These people have a realistic self-image. Their strivings are in line with their competences. However, as life continuously changes they contantly need to adapt to maintain a balance. To optimally grow, they need to develop certain competences that help them manage multiple life-goals and prevent them from conflicting.

C CHALLENGE YOURSELF - These people fear failure and are therefore passive and avoid pressures. To optimally grow, they need to expand their boundaries and see failure as a learning process.

The context cluster ‘friction for growth’ describes that conflicts are not necessarily negative as

they can positively affect people’s well-being on the long-run. However, three situations can be

distinguished in which people experience a conflicting life-goal. Each situation relates to a different

coping strategy that allows people to deal with the situation in a constructive way.

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Competences

Doing less than you

could handle

Doing more than you

can handle

Striv

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How

mcu

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han

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How much you can handle

Optimal

functi

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C

AB

Figure 28 - How to reach optimal functioning

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Conflicts can lead to personal growth, as the cluster ‘friction for growth’ describes. However, this

will only happen when people deal with the conflict in a constructive way. The seven remaining

clusters each refer to an aspect that determines how well people will deal with a conflict. They can

be described as the competences people need to develop to deal with conflicts constructively.

Set & follow prioritiesThe cluster ‘prioritizing’ refers to people’s ability to know what they want in life and follow through on it, without being distracted. It requires people to set realistic goals, have perseverence and make sacrifices.

Accept & let goThe cluster ‘emotional stability’ describes people’s ability to live in the present without worries about the past or future. The competence to develop is to let go of adversity from the past, be unjudgemental in the present and control rumination about possible negative consequences in the future.

Change perspectiveFrom the cluster ‘stepping back’, the abillity has been distilled to take distance from your life and avoid tunnel vision. By putting your conflict experience into perspective, people can better judge what how they can and should act to deal with the situation and thereby optimally grow.

Act autonomouslyFrom the cluster ‘others’ oriented’ comes the competence to make decisions based on your own needs above the needs of others. It described the ability to utilize others by making them facilitate in the pursuit of your life-goals, instead of allowing them to restraint you. This could refer to sharing your worries, accepting sympathy, allowing help and saying ‘no’.

Take actionFinally, the cluster ‘being in charge’ refers to people’s ability to adapt to changes, gain a sense of control and cope with uncertainty. This competence requires people to change habits and rigid behaviour patterns that have become counter-productive, and to take a path of higher resistence.

UNDERLYING HOLISTIC CAUSEAlthough each conflict is different, they all carry the same holistic underlying cause: there is a discrepancy between a person’s expectations and a person’s perceived reality. People’s expectations are based on their person’s strivings / life-goals. The perceived reality is based on the perceived resources at hand.

People’s expectations and perceived reality aren’t fixed. Whether people interpret a situation as being a conflict and how they then deal with it is determined by their competences. These competences allow people to either adjust their expectations, adjust their perception of the reality or deal with the perceived conflict in a constructive way.

COMPETENCES INVOLVEDThese are the competences - which have been identified in the clusters - that determine how people perceive and deal with conflict experiences. Each of these competences will now be explained (for an overview, see Figure 29).

Be self-determined From the cluster ‘need for reference’, the competence of being self-determined has been distilled. It described people abilty to set expectations according to their own beliefs, and not compare themselves constantly to others. Being able to develop strong and independent values that guide your behaviour and decision-making, allows people to be unharmed by unrealistic references or a lack of references for their well-being.

Set limitationsThe cluster ‘constrained freedom’ refers to peoples ability to set realistic aims and accept that they cannot strive for maximalization in every domain of their lives. It requires a healthy and realistic perspective on your own abilities and admit the impact of luck on people’s successes.

FRAMEWORK FOR LIFE-GOAL CONFLICTS

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Expectations

Strivings Resources

Perceived reality

UNDERLYING CAUSE OF LIFE-GOAL CONFLICTS

Frame of reference

Emotional stability Stepping back Other’s oriented Being in charge

Competence needed to deal with conflicts constructively

Related cluster

Be self-determined

Accept & let go

Change perspective

Actautonomous

Takeaction

Setlimitations

Know yourpriorities

Constrained fredom Prioritizing

Figure 29 -Framework of conflict experiences

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Three situations in relation to optimal functioning

Develop competences through conflicts

Subjective well-being is defined by people’s own mindset and attitude. Design can stimulate a change in this.

Meaning is one essential aspect of a satisfying life. It is experienced by pursuits your goals and virtues.

Fulfilling the three innate human needs is essential for people’s ability to challenge themselves and achieve personal growth.

Positive psychology aims at stimulating human flourishing. People can train their mental health and thereby build their competences.

People’s everyday goals and activities are motivated by their life-goals: people’s subconcious pursuits throughout their lives.

Life-goals have a satisfaction limit. Above this limit, satisfaction in one domain will influence the satisfaction in other domains.

Life-goals conflict when the required limited resources - time, energy or behaviour strategy - are incompatible.

When experiencing a conflict between life-goals, people are torn between two equally important yet opposing motivations.

HOW DO CONFLICTING LIFE-GOALS AFFECT

PEOPLE’S SUBJECTIVE WELL-BEING?

Literature research

Dealing with conflicts

Achieving life-goals

Improving subjective well-being

WHY DO PEOPLE EXPERIENCE CONFLICTING LIFE-GOALS?

User research on conflict situations

Societal characteristics

Certain developments in modern Western society, such as the norm for high strivings, the overload of freedom, the overload of stimuli and changing work demands, can contribute to people’s conflict experiences.

Literature research

HOW SHOULD PEOPLE DEAL WITH CONFLICTING LIFE-GOALS?

ViP process

Perspective on confllcts& framework

Friction for growth

Stepping back

Prioritizing

Frame of references

Constrained freedom

Other’s oriented

Emotional stability

Being in charge

Context clusters

chapter 4framework

Situational characteristics

Personal characteristics

Personality (e.g. neuroticsm, agreeableness, goal-mindedness ) and learned behaviour (e.g. avoiding confrontation, comparing yourself to others) determine whether people judge a certain situation as being a conflict.

Some situational aspects that determine how people experience a conflict are the flexibility of the activities, the duration of the conflict, the awareness of the consequences, the expectations of others and the experience of scarcity.

Context factor generation

chapter 2background theory

chapter 3conflicting life-goals

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Three situations in relation to optimal functioning

Develop competences through conflicts

Subjective well-being is defined by people’s own mindset and attitude. Design can stimulate a change in this.

Meaning is one essential aspect of a satisfying life. It is experienced by pursuits your goals and virtues.

Fulfilling the three innate human needs is essential for people’s ability to challenge themselves and achieve personal growth.

Positive psychology aims at stimulating human flourishing. People can train their mental health and thereby build their competences.

People’s everyday goals and activities are motivated by their life-goals: people’s subconcious pursuits throughout their lives.

Life-goals have a satisfaction limit. Above this limit, satisfaction in one domain will influence the satisfaction in other domains.

Life-goals conflict when the required limited resources - time, energy or behaviour strategy - are incompatible.

When experiencing a conflict between life-goals, people are torn between two equally important yet opposing motivations.

HOW DO CONFLICTING LIFE-GOALS AFFECT

PEOPLE’S SUBJECTIVE WELL-BEING?

Literature research

Dealing with conflicts

Achieving life-goals

Improving subjective well-being

WHY DO PEOPLE EXPERIENCE CONFLICTING LIFE-GOALS?

User research on conflict situations

Societal characteristics

Certain developments in modern Western society, such as the norm for high strivings, the overload of freedom, the overload of stimuli and changing work demands, can contribute to people’s conflict experiences.

Literature research

HOW SHOULD PEOPLE DEAL WITH CONFLICTING LIFE-GOALS?

ViP process

Perspective on confllcts& framework

Friction for growth

Stepping back

Prioritizing

Frame of references

Constrained freedom

Other’s oriented

Emotional stability

Being in charge

Context clusters

chapter 4framework

Situational characteristics

Personal characteristics

Personality (e.g. neuroticsm, agreeableness, goal-mindedness ) and learned behaviour (e.g. avoiding confrontation, comparing yourself to others) determine whether people judge a certain situation as being a conflict.

Some situational aspects that determine how people experience a conflict are the flexibility of the activities, the duration of the conflict, the awareness of the consequences, the expectations of others and the experience of scarcity.

Context factor generation

chapter 2background theory

chapter 3conflicting life-goals

“I took a step back and opened my eyes

I looked round and realised

This media we call social is anything but

when we open our computers and it’s our doors we shut”

[...]

“So look up from your phone, shut down the display

Take in your surroundings, make the most of today

Just one real connection is all it can take

To show you the difference that being there can make”

Look up, Gary Turk

“

”

In the design phase, the framework - concluding the analysis - will be translated into

a design vision that guides the entire design process. Chapter 5 - the design vision

(page 60) presents this vision and how it has been iteratively build up. Chapter 6 -

the design intervention (page 74) presents the design intervention that has been

developed to achieve this vision. It is followed by a validation the design and technical

decisions that have been made.

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Essence of framework

chapter 5design vision

WHAT SHOULD THE INTERVENTION BE?

HOW SHOULD THE DESIGN INTERVENE IN THE CONTEXT?

Ideation

Design ideas

Concept

Concept guidelines

· ----------· ------

· ------· -------

HOW CAN THE INTERVENTION BE REALIZED?

Concept development

Directions

Technical detailing

Design detailing

Design intervention

Technical possibilitiesElectronics

Components

Usage scenario’s Shape, size & appearance

Movement

chapter 6the design intervention

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Design vision

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Essence of framework

chapter 5design vision

WHAT SHOULD THE INTERVENTION BE?

HOW SHOULD THE DESIGN INTERVENE IN THE CONTEXT?

Ideation

Design ideas

Concept

Concept guidelines

· ----------· ------

· ------· -------

HOW CAN THE INTERVENTION BE REALIZED?

Concept development

Directions

Technical detailing

Design detailing

Design intervention

Technical possibilitiesElectronics

Components

Usage scenario’s Shape, size & appearance

Movement

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CHAPTER

The analysis phase has resulted in a framework of conflicting life-goals. Based on this framework, a vision has been formulated (section 5.1). This vision describes the intended impact of the design intervention on people’s experience of life-goal conflicts. The vision explains the desired impact is desired of the design intervention that will be developed. The vision has been iteratively formulated. Based on the framework one essential competence in formulated (section 5.2). Next, a focus has been taken on one specific conviction and behavior (section 5.3 & 5.4). Finally, a specific design strategy is chosen (section 5.5).

DESIGN VISION.

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5.1

VISION STATEMENT

“I want to enable people to question the conviction of

‘not missing out’ by making it feel absurd

to be constantly checking your phone”

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Question your own convictions

5.2 Essence of framework

+

+

+

Making it absurd

5.5 Design strategy

I shouldn’t miss out

5.3 Specific conviction

Constantly checking your phone

5.4 Specific behaviour

Figure 30 - Construction of the vision statement

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5.2

THREE GENERAL COMPETENCESThe competences have first been combined into three general competences, being ‘following your inner guide’, ‘changing views’ and ‘letting go’.

Inner guideThe competences ‘act autonomously’, ‘be self-determined’ and ‘set & follow your priorities’ have been combined into the more general competence of ‘following your inner guide’. They all explain how people need to develop an independent stance that guides their decisions.

Let go The competences ‘set limitations’ and ‘accept & let go’ have been combined into the more general competence of letting go, as they both explain how people need to accept life and let go of control, in order to be satisfied with limits in life and setting realistic aims.

Change viewsThe competences ‘change perspective’ and ‘take action’ have been combined into the more general competence of changing views, as they both explain how people need to actively change their view and see things from a different light, in order to re-appraise their situation.

The framework gives an overview of the competences a person needs to have in order to deal with

conflict experiences constructively. To find a holistic element in these competences, they’ve first

been combined into three more general competences. From these three competences one essential

aspect has been found that explains what people need to be able to do to deal constructively with

conflict experiences. This aspect is the main element in the design vision.

ESSENCE OF THE FRAMEWORK

Figure 31 - Three generalized competences

People need to build an independent stance that guides them thoughout their lives.

INNER GUIDE

I want to enable people to accept life as it is and let go of control.

LET GO

I want to enable people to change perspectives in order to re-appraise their situation.

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ESSENCE OF FRAMEWORKThese three competences are all still very general. By looking for a similarity in how people can change their view, let go or learn to follow their inner guide, an essential aspect has been found. This aspect is the ability to question your own convictions. Over time, people develop routines, habits and thinking patterns that have become so self-evident to them, that they don’t realize there are other ways to look at their situation. By questioning their habitual thoughts and beliefs (their convictions) that subconciously determine their behaviour and decision-making, people become more aware of their reasoning (or lack of reasoning). This might make them discover limiting beliefs. A critical mindset enables people to be continuously develop and adapt their convictions. They are open-minded enough to change views, critical enough to follow their inner guide and realistic enough to let go when necessary. The general vision within this project will therefore be: “I want to enable people to question their own convictions”.

This vision will be guiding in the design phase. However, this current vision explains how the design should support people in dealing with conflict experiences in general. It’s not related to a concrete situation. Also, it doesn’t yet explain how the design should intervene. Therefore, the current vision needs to be specified for both of these aspects.

Changing your perspective Taking

action

Question your ownconvictions

Controlling your freedom

Accepting and

letting go

Being self-

determined

Acting autonomously

Setting goals and following

through

Follow

inner guide

Letting go

Change views

Frame of references

Prioritizing

Stepping back Being in

chargeEmotional stability

Other’s oriented

Constrained freedom

Clusters Competences Generalized Essence

From framework to visionDevelop competences through conflicts

Figure 32 - Overview: from context clusters to essence of framework

By finding the essential competence from the

framework of conflicting life-goals, the general

design vision has been found: “To support people

in questioning their own conviction”.

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Convictions and self-limiting beliefsA conviction is defined as ‘a fixed or firm belief’. They are unconciously formed through our personal experiences. Examples of convictions are “I should always keep my promise“ and “I should seperate work and family life”. Convictions are useful as they guide you in your decision making, but sometimes convictions become limiting. In psychology this is referred to as self-limiting beliefs: the thoughts you tell yourself that restrict you in your life. Conflicts can make you question your convictions, to test if they are still helping you or whether they stand in your way. For instance, in the user research a participant believed he “should provide the same level of work as my collegues working five days a week”, but this restricted him from spending time with his young child. Another participant beleived she “should never disappoint my daughter”, which restricted her from standing up for her own needs.

Conviction: fear of missing outThe conviction that seems to be significant in society today and underlying people’s high strivings, is the idea that you should grab all opportunities and not miss out on any chances. This notion has recently become a popular topic in popular media and is referred to as FOMO, short for ‘the fear of missing out’. FOMO is believed to be related to social developments such as the rise of communication technologies and growing individualism. The technologies have exponentially increased our awareness of the options available and individualism has emphasized our personal importance (Herman, 2011).

This conviction is useful to a certain extend, as it drives people to try more and develop themselves more. In our current society, which is a meritocarcy, it’s also a logical conviction: people are believed to get equal chances, but people are responsible themselves for what they do with these chances (de Botton, 2011).

However, this conviction can become counterproductive in current society. There is such an overload of choices and opportunities that it exceeds the amount of resources a person has. This is also described by the cluster ‘constrained freedom’, as presented in the framework. In short, the overload of freedom causes people to fear ‘missing out’ and consequentially increase their strivings .

This paragraph explains what specific conviction the design intervention should make people

question. This conviction has been chosen by looking back at the social phenomena that has

been the starting point of this project. The most significant limiting conviction that underlies this

phenomenon will be identified. Hereby, the design intervention will respond to the most significant

limiting conviction causing most of people’s conflict experiences in society today.

5.3

SPECIFY CONVICTION: MISSING OUT

I shouldn’tmiss out

Figure 33 - Conviction that underlies people’s high strivings

The psychological phenomenon referred to as

FOMO describes how people’s conviction that they

should grab all opportunities drives them believe

they “shouldn’t miss out” on any acitivity or

information, leaving them restless at all times.

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The conviction ‘not missing out’ is a mindset which affects people’s behaviour in certain situations.

In this section, a specific behaviour and situation is chosen to intervene in, thereby making people

concious of the conviction underlying their behaviour.

5.4

SPECIFY BEHAVIOUR: PHUBBING

The conviction ‘I shouldn’t be missing out’ is something that makes people want to e.g. constantly know what their friends are up to, always be up to date with the news, get the latest trends, not miss any good job opportunities and always being invited to all the cool parties and events. It affects the choices people make throughout the day. These choices and people’s underlying mindset are difficult to intervene in, as they happen within people’s minds in unexpected moments. To design an intervention, there has to be a specific behaviour through which this conviction is expressed.

There is one behaviour that clearly expresses the conviction of ‘not missing out’: compulsively checking your phone. Smartphones are a relatively new means that allow people to be up to date with social media and connected to friends everywhere at any time, triggering people to check their phone repetitively.

The habit of constantly checking your smartphone to stay connected is a growing phenomenon in society today. Recent study shows people check their phone on average every ten minutes and typically lasting about thirty seconds (Oulasvirta et al, 2010). Not checking for a longer period of time can make people feel itchy and restless. Heavy usage of mobile phones is even linked to an increase in stress, sleeping disorders and depression (Thomée, 2012).

This checking seems to be done unconciously. A design intervention can make people aware of their unconcious behaviour and thereby allow them to adapt their habits. By confronting users with their behaviour in a playful way, it raises the question whether their checking behaviour is really necessary.

People’s experience of phone usageWhen asking several project groups about their phone usage, these are a few of their comments.

Phone usage is seen as something that is “so common nowadays in people’s routines”. Someone pointed out: “as

this is so new, there aren’t yet any clear boundaries of what usage is acceptable. It gives a lot of restlessness, you need to define your own boundaries.” One person pledged for the young generation to set the standards of what usage is and isn’t appropriate. Many comments were about the importance of messages. People explain they feel like “every message might be important, but they never are”. The expectations of others are pointed out as the reason they still check their phones so often. “It’s no longer accepted to not check your phone frequently. If you don’t check for a while, you have to compensate that afterwards.”

Many people explained they were bothered by their own urge to check their mobile phone and check more often than they’d want. One person dislikes the urge he feels constantly to take his phone out when he has it in his pocket, and another participant remembers catching himself checking him phone every two minutes when he’s bored. “I always think everything (the messages) I get are very important, but they never are.” “We’ve a slave to technology”. What really annoys people is their inability to stop a Whatsapp-conversation that keeps on going, as they feel like they don’t have a valid reason to cut it off.

Figure 34 - Phone checking behaviour, resulting from people’s conviction that they shouldn’t miss out

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of paying attention” (webarticle ‘stop phubbing’). The word has gone viral and has been used in worldwide media since it’s introduction in spring of 2012 (webarticle ‘a word is born’). Whereas checking your phone out of boredom when you’re on your own is quite accepted, phubbing is considered to be quite inappropriate. By intervening in phone usage in social settings, people are confronted by the fact that they can’t even resist their urge to check their phone when they are around othe people. Also, it would be more accepted to intervene in such settings, as people agree phubbing isn’t desirable.

Conflict experienceBy talking to people about their phone usage, people seem to be experiencing a conflict when feeling the urge to check their phone. Although they feel the urge to check their phone and often do so, they sometimes realize this is not what they really want or they question whether it’s appropriate. A common reason for people to check their mobile phone frequently seems to be the expectations of others, whereas not checking their phone for a while can be very reliefing and relaxing. Figure 36 presents the conflict experience that seems to underly people’s checking behaviour. People now tend to choose the left behaviour - checking your phone. The aim of the design intervention is to make people more aware of the conflict and therefore make a more concious choice between the two possible behaviours.

In social settings, another concern is involved in the conflict experience: the effect your behaviour has on the people you’re socializing with. In such situations, people might experience a stronger conflict as the concern ‘to ignore my phone’ has become a more concious concern.

When asked how they feel about the phone usage of other people, most people first say they’ve gotten used to it, and it doesn’t bother people that much any more. People don’t mind someone checking one time, as long as it doesn’t happen constantly. But as they keep on talking about it, they remember more and more incidents where they thought someone’s usage was annoying, especially during dinners and one-on-one conversations. “People really disconnect from their environment. You’re not approachable any more when with other people.”

Phubbing: checking in a social settingThe act of checking your phone is a social setting has become so common that a group of experts have designed a word for it: phubbing. It’s definition: “The act of snubbing someone in a social setting by looking at your phone instead

Figure 35 - Poster of the stop-phubbing campaign.

Phubbing, the act of looking at your phone instead of paying attention, is a behaviour that is related to people’s conviction that they shouldn’t miss out. People experience a (often subconcious)

dilemma whether they should or shouldn’t give into the urge to check their phone.

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Mental stimulation & responsibility

Check my phone

Behaviour

TO CHECK OR NOT TO CHECK...

Ignoremy phone

Kindness& ease of

mind

Figure 36 - Conflict experienced when feeling the urge to check your phone

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REBELLING

Situation The strategy of ‘rebelling’ is based on the situation of youngers in puberty, as well as the situation of citizens during a revolution. In both situations people want to provoke an existing conviction or norm, by testing how far they can deviate from the ordinary. A specific rebellious action would be jumping over a fence.

Evoking elementThis behaviour can be evoked by tempting people to perform unconventional behaviour.

Design examplesFor instance, the glass of a fire alarm could tempt you to break it. A bin in the office which you’d have to kick to open, demands unconventional behaviour that makes you question whether you should act formal.

ADAPTING

SituationThe strategy ‘adapting’ is based on situations that limit your routine, such as a sudden power failure, loosing your phone or a road block that forces you to find a different route.

Evoking elementAn element that is takes for granted is taken away. By limiting people in their routine, they have to shift aside their conviction on what’s normal and find a new way that is constructive.

Design examplesIrregular stairs might make you think why you’re in a hurry. A chair that slowely deflates until you feel the legs poking in your butt, might make you think how long you should work without taking a break.

Six strategies have been identified on how a design can question convictions. Each strategy is

based on a current situation that make people question convictions. These situations consists

of an (designable) element that specifies ‘how’ a design can evoke the reaction of ‘questioning a

conviction’ among the user.

DESIGN STRATEGIES

5.5

Question convictions by...

REBELLINGA design that temps and provokes you to unconventional behaviour

Design examplesSituation

Question convictions by...

ADAPTINGA design that limits your routine

Design examplesSituation

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DISSOCIATING

SituationDuring carnaval or a masked ball, you are free from the restrictions of your everyday life and people are able to more openly. When you are lying on your deathbed and overlooking your life, people are able to critically look at the life that has past.

Evoking elementIn both situations, people are free from consequences, making it easier to take a distance from their everyday life and question whether your actions are normal.

Design examplesWriting in your diary at night makes you question your actions of the day. The ball chair by Eero Aarnio enables people to distance themselves from the surroundings and question why they are there.

EXPLORING

SituationWhen going abroad, people emmerse themselves in a completely new culture, with strange habits, traditions and values.

Evoking elementBeing the odd one out and seeing how what is alternative to you can be normal for someone else, makes you compare your own convictions to those of others.

Design examplesThe fruit bowl that can also be a cake plate - Dilemma by Fabrica - makes you question how healthy you should eat. A planner that lets you plan activities but also prominently presents the opportunity to scratch away activities or block certain moments free, makes you question how busy you should be.

Question convictions by...

EXPLORINGA design that presents alternatives

Design examplesSituation

Question convictions by...

DISSOCIATINGA design that makes you feel free from the consequences

Design examplesSituation

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ABSURDIZING

SituationA flash-mob takes people by surprise and shakes people loose from their everyday routine. A duck that has managed to get into the subway station is unusual and unexpected, bringing a surprise on to people’s faces.

Evoking elementIt brings absurdity to an ordinary situation, an unexpected element that makes people aware again of their ordinary surroundings or routine actions.

Design examplesThe project ‘Grow your tail’ by Greyworld explores how people react to a guy walking around the street with a wagging tail, and makes you question whether you need to fit in the crowd.

EMPATHIZING

SituationA child asking simple questions, such as ‘who are you going to work today?’, or a dog jumping excitedly at you. They both act as a mirror to you, placing yourself into their situation.

Evoking elementThey both force you to be concious of your reasoning, as they show you how another creature does not blindly accept your convictions.

Design examplesA lamp that needs to sleep every once in a while, will make you question whether you shouldn’t also take a rest.

Question convictions by...

ABSURDIZINGA design that brings absurdity to a situation

Design examplesSituation

Question convictions by...

EMPATHIZINGA design that captures you to make you put yourself into another situation

Design examplesSituation

‘Absurdizing’ has been chosen as the most

suitable design strategy for within this project.

The design goal is to make people realize their

convictions about ‘missing out’ are irrational.

Making the act of phubbing seem absurd would be

an effective way of confronting people with their

behaviour and thereby rethink why they’re doing

it. This strategy creates a bit of friction and is not

too serious, which complies - as you will read in

chapter 5.6 - the intended experience.

CHOSEN STRATEGY: ABSURDIZING

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Interaction visionBy describing what the interaction with the design intervention should be like, it can be designed accordingly. Describing the interaction supports the vision by explaining ‘how’ the design should be experienced, whereas the statement only describes ‘what’ should be designed.

The main goal, as presented in the vision statement, is to make people question their conviction of ‘missing out’. This expresses itself in their behaviour of checking their phone. Thus, by making people concious of their motivation to check their phone, they will be triggered to question their conviction. As the subgoal ‘to make it absurd’ expresses, the design intervention should evoke a feeling that this behaviour is not normal. However, critizizing people on their behaviour is generally not appreciated. It makes people resist and take distance instead of reflect on themselves. To make people embrace the design intervention, they should therefore be be approached kindly and unforced. As such, the interaction that is intended is described as ‘subtly confronting’. It makes them question themselves: “Should I really be checking my phone constantly? What would happen if I do not check my phone for a while? Do I actually miss out by checking or by not checking my phone?”.

Product qualitiesThe last step before designing, is describing what qualities the design intervention needs to posess to fulfill the intented vision statement and interaction. What qualities does the intervention need to posess to create the interaction of ‘subtle confrontation’? First of all, the intervention needs to be surprising to bring about a confrontation. Secondly, it needs to be kind and understanding to get people on board instead of resisting. It shouldn’t be judgemental, as this will work

counterproductive. It’s up to the people themselves what conclusion they draw from it: either they will accept the reminder and decide to use their phone less, or they will decide that in that particular situation it’s fine to use their phone. They should in such a case have the possibility to ignore the intervention or find a way to work around it. The intervention should therefore be naive, meaning that it allows for cheating and doesn’t give any force. It should be light-hearted, not too heavy or serious, but rather fun and playful. However, the intervention shouldn’t get too comfortable, and only be understanding, naive and light-hearted. A crucial quality is that it should generate friction, making the intervention a bit uncomfortable in order to push people to question their convictions.

The qualities as explained are in line with what Marc Hassenzahl calls ‘the aesthetics of friction’ (Hassenzahl, 2011). According to him, conditions to create a desirable friction are naivety, understanding and irony. The first two fit the presented product qualities. The irony in this intervention is that people’s believe not checking their phone makes them miss out, whereas the intervention hints to them that it’s the other way around: checking your phone makes you miss out in the moment, in real life. Therefore the intervention should make it feel like you’re rejecting the real life by giving attention to your digital life.

The vision statement is the foundation for the design phase, as it describes what the design

should offer to the context. It gives the design a ‘reason of existence’. But this statement alone is

not sufficient to fully guide the further design process; it needs to be supported by two aspects:

the interaction and the product qualities. The first will describe how the intervention should be

experienced to achieve its goal. The second will describe the qualities the intervention needs to

elicit the desired interaction. Together these will validate whether the eventual design intervention

has achieved it’s goals.

5.6

INTERACTION VISION & PRODUCT QUALITIES

‘Subtly confronting’. Surprising, kind, understanding,

non-judgemental, naive, playful and generating

friction: those are the words that descibe how the

intervention should be experienced.

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CHAPTER

6THE DESIGN INTERVENTION.

The design vision has been translated into a design intervention. Whereas the vision explains how the intervention should effect people, the design intervention depicts what the actual intervention will be and gives this vision its embodiment. This chapter presents an impression and description of the design intervention as well as a scenario of the intended interaction (section 6.1 & 6.2). Furthermore, the design decisions and technical opportunities will be validated and a proposal for its implementation is presented (section 6.3 & 6.4).

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6.1

DESIGN INTERVENTION: ATTENTION SEEKERS

The Attention Seekers are a set of interactive coasters that respond to mobile phone usage within its surroundings. It confronts users with their urge to constantly check their phone and thereby makes them question whether they can miss out on their messages and online life for a while.

In social settings, such as a restaurant or meeting room, the coasters are placed on the table by the host institution. Whenever someone checks his or her phone, the coasters slowely start to move around and thereby playfully ask people’s attention. The response gradually builds up in strength over time, until the person stops checking his or her phone.

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They Attention Seekers look like and function as an ordinary coaster. It consists of a radio-frequency detector that recognizes when mobile phones are being actively used. Two movement-strips on the bottom allow the coaster to move around. To maintain the surprise effect, the coasters can be hidden underneath existing objects. such as bowls and magazine.

The Attention Seekers still allow people to check their phone when its urgent. However, it stimulates people to rethink their behaviour. People are triggered to conciously make a distinction between necessary checking which eases their mind and unnecessary compulsive phubbing which only makes them more restless. Whenever people feels the urge to check their phone, they will question why they feel this way. Thereby they realize how absurd it is to feel the urge to not miss out on their messages.

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6.2

STORYBOARD OF INTERVENTION

Two old friends, Elina and Sofia meet up at a hip new bistro in town. They have a chat about everything they’ve been up to these days.

Sofia is constantly expecting important calls and messages. She’s busy starting up her own company and feels like she should be available at all times. She therefore keeps the phone lying on the table and quickly checks it whenever she receives a message.Elina is bothered by this and feels neglected. She was just telling a story which now suddenly got interrupted.

As Sofia checks her phone, the candlelight suddenly starts to move a bit. They’re both surprised and a bit shocked. Eline finds it a bit scary, Sofia starts laughing.

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After recovering from this first shock, they start to explore the coaster. Sofia picks up the coaster and they try to recall waht just happened. They point out that this might mean the coaster responded to their phone.

At some point Elina feels in het pocket that she receives a message. She feels the urge to check it and grabs her phone out of habit. Just in time she realizes the device would start moving if she checks her phone. It reminds her of the inappropriateness to check her phone. The quote on the coaster makes her realize how absurd it really is that she feels this urge. She decides to ignore the message and enjoy her nice time with her old friend Sofia.

They test what happens if they use their phone again and start playing around with it for a while. Sofia realizes she’d better put her phone in her pocket, to be less distracted by it. As the excitement cools down and they start conversing again, they forget about the coaster.

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This chapter explains several aspects of the design and validates the design decisions that have

been made throughout the ideation and development process. It described the variation of design

directions, the guidelines that have been set up and different scenario’s of usage that have been

explored.

6.3

Basic concept The basic concept behind the Attention Seekers is an interactive object, either integrated in ordinary tableware or as a unusual design object, which start to demand your attention when a phone is used in its surroundings. At first it seems like an ordinary object, thereby not distracting the people at the table. Only when a phone is used it absurdly starts to move around. It’s feedback is neutral as it doesn’t disapprove of the behaviour. It only demands the attention that is given to the phone. It might even take a while before the people realize it’s responding to the use of a phone. It’s a playful way of making the phone use seem absurd. It might be fun and intreging at first, but eventually so distracting that people at the table think twice before checking their phone again. The added value of this intervention (over similar concepts such as the Flickr, see Appendix C1) is that this intervention is stand-alone and seems to lead its own life. It will therefore be experienced as a small creature with human-like features, which allow users to project their emotions.

Design directionsThe Attention Seeker confronts users with their phubbing behaviour by ‘responding directly to a person’s phubbing’. This had been identified during the ideation as one of the three potential design directions. The other two directions are ‘stimulating to put the phone away’ and the other being ‘blocking the phone signal’. Each directions describes the way in which the intervention confronts people with their phubbing behaviour. The chosen direction is believed to be the most suitable and effective way of intervening in people’s phubbing behavior. It directly responds to a person’s behaviour, whereas the other two directions itervene before people actually start checking their phone. These two directions demand more commitment for people, as they force you to distance yourself from your phone, which is for most people a step too far. Unlike the chosen direction, they do not allow any level of phone usage and will therefore not be accepted that easily. The chosen direction is presumably also experienced mostly

as being absurd, which fits the design vision. The alternative two directions are more neutral and do not confront people directly with their behavior. For an overview of all the concepts that have been explored within these three directions, see Appendix C1.

GuidelinesSeveral guidelines had been set up during the ideation phase. The Attention Seeker meets all these guidelines, which are shortly listed here. Detailed description of the guidelines can be found in Appendix C2, and an explanation for choosing the Attention Seekers in Appendix C3.Fit to design vision: the aim is to make people ‘question their need to not miss out’ by means of ‘making phubbing feel absurd’.

DESIGN VALIDATION

Figure 37 - Impression of concepts

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Instead, the device will be clearly visible. The device will be make to look like an ordinary coaster, giving it a reason to be displayed on the table. In this form it will not raise any questions about its functionality and it’s therefore no longer an issue whether the device is visible or not. The coaster can be placed underneath any existing relatively lightweight product and stick to its surface.

Interaction & product qualities: The interaction should be experinced as ‘subtly confronting’. It should create a bit of friction and uncomfort, whilst staying playful and understanding.Environment-driven approach: The added value of a design intervention is, compared to for instance campaigns and therapies, its ability to directly intervene in people’s lives. Such an environment-driven intervention will therefore be chosen ad further developed in this project. Any personal-driven interventions that require commitment and prior awareness of people to succeed will in this project be ignored.Balance absurdness and realistic: The design aims to be absurd but also needs to stay realistic to be effective. Therefore feedback should be subtle and people should be able to ignore the response when desired.Ownership: As the intervention should be confronting, the product shouldn’t be marketed to the people the intervention is aimed at. Instead, it should be marketed to institutions and (semi)-public spaces in which the intervention can be hosted.Stand-alone: the intervention should all flexible usage and therefore shouldn’t require any prior installation.

Usage scenario’sThe Attention Seeker is a seperate device that can be placed underneath any existing tableware product. This allows it to be used flexibly and stay confronting each time. Two other options that propose another relation between the design intervention and existing tableware are (A) a stand-alone product that is perceived as ordinary tableware and (B) a separate device that matches a series of tableware products. These three alternatives are presented and explained in more detail in Appendix C5. Furthermore, in Appendix C4 the inital scenario is presented, which had been the starting point for the design detailing process.

The range of products (e.g. in size and weight) that can be combined with the device is related to the devices features (e.g. shape and motor capacity). To keep the size of the device as low as possible, certain concession will have to be made in the maximum weight the device can carry. However, as it turns out the device will always be quite visible, it’s been decided that the aim will not be to hide the device.

The basic concept is to have an interactive object on the table that starts to demand people’s attention when a smart phone is being used in its surroundings, by slowely moving around.Three design directions have been distinguished that describe in which way the intervention confronts people with their phubbing behaviour. The choses direction is to ‘respond directly to a person’s phubbing behaviour’.The intervention aims to fit the design vision and interaction & product qualities. Furthermore, it should be environment-driven, balance absurdness and realistic usage, be targeted at the institutions that host the intervention and be stand-alone.The device functions as a coaster, giving it a valid reason to be displayed in the table and covering it’s actual function.The device can be placed underneath any existing (relatively lightweight) product, such as a magazine or bowl, and thereby evoke a surprise response over and over again.

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In this section, the current technological possibilities are presented that validate the technical

feasibily of the design intervention. There are five crucial functions in this, which will each be

explained.

6.4

There are several functions the device should possess that need to be investigated further. These functions are:(1) Receive desired signal, (2) Discriminate incoming messages, (3) Set the domain of the receiver, (4) Locate signal and (5) Translate into movement.

1. Receive desired signalIdeally the device will respond any time a person unlocks his smart phone and checks it for a certain period of time, independent of the type of usage (such as calling, checking messages, using apps, gaming, or scrolling through pictures). Possible signals the device can pick up are Blue-tooth, WiFi, 3 and 4G and dual-band. Blue-tooth is not automatically activated on all phones. The other three signals are all radio frequency (RF) signals. A RF-receiver that covers the bandwidth of these three signals would therefore be a suitable input. Offline usage cannot be registered, but nowadays most usage involves internet signals. The bandwidth of WiFi signals is usually the 2,4 GHz. The bandwidth of 3G and 4G data usage is around 0,8, 1,8 and 2,6 GHz. The bandwidth of dual-band, which is used for phone calls, is around 0,9 and 1,8 GHz. The bandwidth that needs to be received by the RF-receiver therefore needs to cover frequencies between 0,9 and 2,6 GHz. For this, an antenna (with specific length) and a tuned circuit are needed.

2. Discriminate incoming messagesThe device should not distract people by responding to incoming calls and messages. There needs to be a

discrimination between in- and outgoing signals. Decoding the signal would be a solution but not a desirable one, as it’s technically complex and possibly illegal. The sensitivity of the signal could be a suitable way to distinguish incoming messages, as the signal is likely to be somewhat weaker in strength and shorter in duration. However, it’s quite a complex matter that can only be verified by experimenting and fine tuning. Existing phone detectors are specified to have a variable detection sensitivity, proving that discrimination is possible to a certain level.

3. Set the domain of the receiverThe proximity of the phone signal is relevant as in certain situations it is undesired to pick up signals that are outside a certain domain. For instance, in a restaurant setting the device should only pick up signals around the dinner table and not receive or respond to signals at neighboring tables.The domain of the receiver should therefore be adjustable. Existing phone detectors can be set to variable between a reach of 1 to 15 meters. For this device it could be interesting to give users the possibility to variate the domain. A suitable standard domain would be about 3 metres, as this covers a living room or large conference table.

4. Locate the signalThe initial idea was to have the device locate the signal and respond by moving towards it, in order to grab the attention of the person being involved with his smart phone. A RF-signal can only be located when there are three receiving

TECHNICAL VALIDATION

Receive desired signal

Discriminate incoming messages

Set the domain

Locate the signal

Translate intomovement

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points, e.g. by placing three WiFi-routers in the environment. As it’s not desired to require such installation, this is not an ideal option. Having the device move in the direction of the signal was assumed to be the most effective output, but moving around is believed to be effective enough. User testing could clarify how these two different interactions affect the user’s experience.

5. Translate into movementHaving enough grip is an important factor for the movement-mechanism. However, as the device is aimed to stay as thin as possible, wheels should be as small as possible, which opposes the need of having high grip. Therefore, two rubber catepillar tracks will make the device move around. It can cover the entire length of the device. By having two separate strips, rotational movement is possible as well (see Figure 38).

anti-slip material

cork cover

printboard (incl. antenna, capacitor & motor)

2 catepillartracks

lid (remove to replace battery)

battery (at back)

Figure 38 - Impression of the AttentionSeeker components

The device detects signals from 0,9 to 1,8 GHz, thereby coverting WiFi, GPS and dualband. The device discriminate incoming calls on signal strength and duration. To what extend this is sufficient, needs to be further investigated. The reach of the device is about 3 mtrs, covering a living room or large conference table.The device will not locate the signal. It moves around randomly when any signal is registed. The device has two strips of catepillar track, controlled by a motor. This allows an untra-thin device with a broad grip and therefore stable movement.

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ViP step 4-6

Design vision

Essence of framework

chapter 5design vision

HOW SHOULD THE DESIGN INTERVENE IN THE CONTEXT?

Question convictions

Specific conviction

Not missing out

Specific behaviour

Checking your phone

Design strategy

Making absurd

“I want to enable people to question the conviction of ‘not missing out’ by making it feel

absurd to constantly check your phone’s messages ”

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Ideation

Directions

Criteria

WHAT SHOULD THE INTERVENTION BE?

Ideation

chapter 6the design intervention

HOW CAN THE INTERVENTION BE REALIZED?

Concept development

Blockthe phone

signal

Stimulateto put the

phone away

Respond to the usage

Fit to design vision Stand-alone product Environment driven Balance absurd & realistic

Concept: attention seekers

Design detailing

Design intervention

A thin disk which functions as a coaster and can be placed underneath existing products, will subtle move around when a phone is being used in its surroundings. Its response gradually increases in strength.

Technical detailing

The device picks up RF-signals of phones, can discriminate incoming calls, has a reach of 3 meters and its movement is driven by a motor and two strips of catepillar track.

In this final part of the report the design intervention and process will be discussed

and reflected upon. In chapter 7 - evaluation of intervention (page 89) an

evaluative user test is presented and conclusions and recommendations are given.

Chapter 8 - process & personal insights (page 99) presents the insights gained from

this project into designing for well-being and more specifically designing for conflicting

life-goals. Also, a reflection upon my personal development throughout this project can

read.

PART IVDISCUSSION

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CHAPTER

In this chapter the evaluative study of the design invertention is presented and the conclusions that can be drawn from that (section 7.1 & 7.2). The chapter ends with recommendations for the further development of the design intervention (section 7.3).

EVALUATION OF INTERVENTION.

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To validate whether the design intervention has the intended effect of making phone usage feel

absurd and thereby make people question whether they can miss out, an evaluative test has been

done in which the situation of usage has been simulated. The aims and setup of this test are

presented in this chapter.

Main goalThe aim of the user test is to get an impression of how well the design intervention manages to achieve its design vision “to make people question their conviction of missing out and the feeling of absurdity. Also it will be discussed how and to what extend the the interaction and product qualities (being confronting, surprising, understanding, naive, lighthearted and generating friction) can and have been achieved.

Research questionsThe main questions that need to be answered by the test are:1 - How do people respond to the movement of the device?2 - Do people recognize the movement responds to their mobile phone checking behaviour? If so, how do they respond?3 - How do people adapt their phone checking behaviour?4 - How do people prefer the device to respond to their phone usage?

Test setupThe test will be executed with project teams in the controlled setting of a research studio with blinded window. About five tests will be held. A prototype (see Appendix D1)

will been build that can be radio-controlled from behind this blinded glass. Project groups will be asked to participate without any prior knowledge of the testin topic. One of the group members will be secretly involved in order to obtain the group member’s phone numbers. This allows the researcher to send messages and thereby trigger the participants to check their phones. Upon arriving, they will be seated at the table near the blinded window and asked to wait while the researcher makes some quick preperations. Besides some snacks, magazines and blank papers, the prototype will have been placed on the table, functioning as a pencil holder. The participants are expected to check their phone at some point, or will be triggered to do so. The researcher will make the device move around.

Following this session, the researcher will hand each participant an questionairre individually in which they answer some questions and describe their emotional response with the PrEmo tool. In a group discussion, their response and thoughts on the device and interaction will be

discussed.

For a full description of the setup, see Appendix D2.

7.1

EVALUATIVE STUDY - SETUP

Participants Researcher Prototype

During the test: The group waits and waits. Participants either starts checking their phone at some point, or this is triggered by the researcher.

Recruiting participant-groups:Researcher tells project teams about a made-up test he wants to conduct.

Start of the test: Researcher tells group to wait a moment as he has to reprint the right questionaires.

During the test: When someone checks a phone, the researcher will make the prototype move around and record the groups response.

Figure 39 - User test setup

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In this chapter the results, discussion and conclusion from the evaluative test are presented. It

shortly introduces the five sessions, followed by an answer to the four research questions.

7.2

Short descriptions of the sessionsGroup 1 - At the start of the test one of the participants already picked up the device to examine it and accidentally turned it off. Although a lot of people checked their phone during the following minutes, it was not possible to make the device respond and the test has therefore been ended. The group didn’t need to fill out the questionnaire and the discussion focussed on how they believed the device could affect their usage.

Group 2 - The group reacted pleasantly surprised to the movement of the device and immediately picked it up to inspect it. As the wheels got stuck because of this, the researcher had to perform a quick intervention to repair the damage. After this reparation the group experimented to find out what the device was responding to, and quite rapidly discovered it responded to phone usage.

Group 3 – The movement got noticed first when only two of the team members were present. They initially believed they were hallucinating, followed by a response of disbelief and excitement. During the rest of the test, the group members used their phones extensively, but no relation with phone usage has been noticed.

Group 4 – The group strongly responded to the movement of the device with surprise and laughter. A few participants experienced the interaction as being a bit scary. There were periods of quite intensive phone usage during this session. No one realized what the device was responding to, but they did speculate other possible responses.

Group 5 – Unlike the other groups, this group were placed around a meeting table and received a design assignment to complete within a certain time. Although there was intensive and frequent phone usage throughout the session, the relationship to the device’s movement was not discovered. They ignored the device at certain moments, explored what it could respond to at other moments and at one point a participant got frustrated with it.

For full description of session, see Appendix D3 - D7.

EVALUATIVE STUDY - RESULTS & CONCLUSIONS

Figure 40 - Screenshots taken from the sessions (from top to bottom) #2 (recognizing it’s response), #3 (feeling at unease with the movement), #4 (shock and laughter after movement) and #5 (using phone and ignoring movement).

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situation and the ability of the device to locate the usage) are presented. Figure 42 shows an overview of the participants response’s towards hearing that the device responds to phoneusage. Although further testing in real-life settings and other type of situations (with more clearly undesired phone usage, such as dinners and important meetings) are needed, for now it will be assummed the relation between the device’s movement and people’s phone usage is indeed really not being noticed.

Unconcious phone usageWhat consequence does this have for the design? First of all, it shows how unconscious people are nowadays of their own usage and of other people’s phone usage. The fact that people hardly notice their own usage and their disconnection from their environment any more proves the relevance of creating awareness for this behaviour. By turning this unconscious habit into a conscious conflict (“If I check I will distract my team members”), people are triggered to question their need to stay up-to-date.

Surprise or no surprise?So, how important is it for people to discover the relation to phone usage by themselves? The main goal of the design has been to “enable people to question the conviction of ‘not missing out’”, the intended way of doing so has been to “make phone usage feel absurd” and the intended

RQ 1 - HOW DO PEOPLE RESPOND TO THE MOVEMENT OF THE DEVICE?

In the questionnaire the participants individually reported their emotional response to the sudden movement of the device, with use of the PrEmo measurement tool. In Appendix D8 the elaborate results can be found. Figure 41 shows an overview of the participants’ responses.

The sudden movement evokes a quite strong response of surprise and fascination. This first response is followed by an eagerness of people to understand what just happened. They either pick it up to actively examine it or discuss and try to discover clues for how it’s moving, e.g. by looking under the table.

RQ 2 - DO PEOPLE RECOGNIZE THE MOVEMENT RESPONDS TO THEIR MOBILE PHONE CHECKING BEHAVIOUR? IF SO, HOW DO THEY RESPOND?

Quite surprisingly, almost nobody realized the device responded to people’s phone usage. Not all groups even recognized the device was responding to something in particular. Apparently people’s phone usage is perceived as being so common nowadays, that people hardly even notice it. In Appendix D9, the full results and an elaborate discussion (on the effect of the test setting, the imitated

Figure 41 - Overview of participants’ first responses, with PrEmo measurement tool

Desire Satisfaction Pride Hope

Pleasant surprise Fascination Disgust Dissatisfaction

Shame Fear Sadness Boredom

FIRST REACTION TO SUDDEN MOVEMENT

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Pleasant surprise Fascination Disgust Dissatisfaction

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REACTION WHEN REALIZING IT RESPONDS TO PHONE USAGE

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Figure 42 - Overview of participant’s response when realizing the relation to phone usage, with PrEmo measurement tool

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the newness has worn off. After this phase people do not want to be constantly distracted by the device and will bring their phone usage back to normal or even lower it.

Annoyed after a whileThere are different opinions about the long-term effect of the device on people’s behaviour. Some participants believe they would quickly place the device elsewhere once they get annoyed by it.One comment was: “I might put the device away at some point, because people are constantly on their phone so it would drive us crazy”. This proves the distractive nature of the device, and stresses the importance of designing it in such a way that it reminds people without annoying them. The aim is of course for people to consider putting their phone away instead of putting the device away. Conclusion: The device should not annoy people after a while, as they shouldn’t feel the urge to take it away.

Frequency of usageMot participants image they would take out their phone less often because “now everyone will clearly know when you’re checking your phone”. They explain that nowadays people hardly notice it when you send a message with your phone. As the movement targets everyone’s attention to your behaviour, you cannot subtly send a message any more. “Than I’d rather not send a message at all”, is one participants’ opinion. One group beliefs they would be triggered to see how long they could commit to not using their phones.Conclusion: People wouldn’t take out their phones that easily and more, as it draws too much attention to them.

RQ 4 - HOW WOULD PEOPLE PREFER THE DEVICE TO RESPOND TO THEIR PHONE USAGE?

Freedom to still checkSome participants pointed out the device needs to have a certain level of freedom. They explained that sometimes you just want to check, just for a short while or when a message is very important. Another concern that was pointed out is whether the device responds to incoming messages or when their phone is on silent. In this case, they wouldn’t want the device to bring their attention towards their phone.

interaction has been to ‘confront’ and to ‘surprise’. All these intentions, except the ‘surprise-effect’, can still be met when people know the relationship beforehand. It is therefore a possibility to market the product as being a device people can buy together, for instance as a project team or family, to commit themselves to not using their phone obsessively during respectively team meetings and family dinners.

Semantics in designHowever, it can first still be investigated whether maintaining the surprise effect is possible by creating semantics to phone usage in the design of the device. Either with it’s physical appearance or in it’s response, the device can hint people that the device has a relation to phone usage. This could be a direct hint such as depicting a phone logo or making it bleep like a phone, but more subtle would be in an indirect semantics could be designed into it’s shape or movement.

RQ 3 - How would people adapt their phone checking behaviour?

AwarenessWhen asked how the device would influence them, people unanimously agree it would make them more aware of their behaviour. Some responses were: “I’d consider better before checking, if this device were on our meeting table”, “It would make me more conscious about checking my phone and whether it’s appropriate” and “It would definitely remind me of my usage”. People pointed out that you can’t just secretively check your phone any more, and this device would remind you when you forget about how rude it might be to check your phone for a long time. Conclusion: The device makes people more aware of their phone checking behaviour.

Play at firstSome of the groups discussed how they would play around with the device in the beginning by using their phone more, to experiment how it works and what it responds to. Someone pointed out this would be a social activity that’s fun for the group. They believed that once the newness of the device has passed, they would get a more serious relation with it, as it shouldn’t distract them at all times.Conclusion: Playing around with the device will pass once

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One participant was very enthusiastic about the device, as people aren’t forced to hand in their phones. “People get angry when they have to do that, it’s too much of a personal product. This device is more accessible.”Conclusion: the concept itself gives people the freedom to still keep their phone with them. The device needs to ignore incoming messages to not distract people, and be understanding towards a certain level of usage.

Character of deviceThe majority of the participants preferred a subtle response that informs you without judging, but just aims at raising awareness. A few preferred a really calm and relaxed response, as expressed in character A. They imagined the device to propose to you to take it easy and oppose the restlessness experienced when checking your phone. However, most others preferred a somewhat more excessive response. “Too subtle and tender wouldn’t work for me. It needs to be an over the top response, as one participant described to be of ‘sincerely disappointment’. Character G, expressing ‘excited attention’ has been picked most often to be suitable and effective. Similarly, character B, expressing ‘supportiveness’, was often liked for it’s positive and supportive nature. Character I, expressing ‘restrictiveness’ often raised some discussion. Some people strongly felt this would be ineffective, as it would only create annoyance, whereas a few others felt this would be effective, but added that it had to be in a sort of fun way. One participant wisely pointed out that everyone would want the device to respond quite strongly to other people whilst it has to be quite subtly and friendly to yourself. An overview of the generally preferred characters is presented in Figure 43. Generally speaking, the device should raise awareness by subtly and playfully expressing disappointment towards people’s behaviour, whilst staying calm and not bringing any force.

Not accusingDifferent opinions were expressed on whether the device should point fingers. Most participants felt the device should only tell what’s best for the group, without pointed at anyone as guilty. They wanted a positive approach and believed pointing fingers could be experienced as too childish and confronting. Only few participants liked the idea of the device accusing someone. Figure 43 - Preferred product characters

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more aware of both concerns. However, there might be a difference between placing this intervention in social setting compared to an private setting. For this social setting of the tests, participants seemed to became more aware of the approriateness of their usage, instead of their peace of mind, which has been the intention. It’s hard to validate, especially in the short-term of this evaluative study, to what extend this intention is lived up to. The social setting has be chosen to focus on, as in this setting the intervention is experienced as suitable and necessary. However, this observation shows it might have the downside that people question their usage but not for the intended reasons.

Conclusion: to support people in a positive way and remain neutral, the device should not point fingers to anyone.

FrictionOne group agreed they preferred a device that “frustrates you in a nice way”. It has to stay a playful object that’s a bit of a pain in the ass. Many other groups expressed similar idea. Some participants wanted the device to make you feel a bit frustrated, and think: “Argh, why does it do that again, now I really have to stop with my phone”.Conclusion: a bit of discomfort can be effective as long as it’s experienced as playful.

Challenging youOne group got excited about the device building up in its response, tolerating behaviour to a certain point whilst gradually getting more extreme and eventually bursting. Another option they explained was to build up a high score, for how long the group can stay off their phones.Conclusion: a game-element that challenges people could give be an interesting element for the device.

Appropriate situationsThe appropriateness of the device also depends on the situation. One group discussed whether it would be more suitable in a classy restaurant, in which they thought it could come across as weird, or in a casual dining place, in which they would feel comfortable playing around with it. In other group someone preferred it to be at work meetings, whilst another participant preferred it to be used “during social moments, like a dinner”. Most agreed there are times in a group that you want to work individually and wouldn’t mind other’s checking their phone. Only during serious discussions it was desired to have such a device.Conclusion: The formality of the situation affects the appropriateness of the device. In too informal settings the device is not needed, whilst in too formal settings the device might be uncomfortable.

FURTHER REMARKS

The evaluative tests proves that participants will become more concious about their usage and thereby some strongly experience and are aware of the dilemma of using versus not using. The conflict is exaggerated, as people are

The sudden movement evokes a quite strong response of surprise and fascination. Almost nobody realized the device responded to people’s phone usage. The device makes people more aware of their phone checking behaviour. It arouses play at first and can become effective once newness has worn off. The device shouldn’t start to annoy people after a while.People will not take out their phones that easily and more as it draws too much attention to them. The device needs to be understanding towards a certain level of usage.To support people in a positive way and remain neutral, the device should not point fingers to anyone. The device should raise awareness by subtly and playfully expressing disappointment towards people’s behaviour A bit of discomfort can be effective as long as it’s experienced as playful. A game-element that challenges people could give be an interesting element for the deviceFor the appropriateness of the device, the right level of formality of a situation is crucial.It isn’t yet clear whether the intervention makes people question only the approriateness or also their peace of mind (as intended).

SUMMARY

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Based on the conclusions of the evaluative tests, a few recommendations have been made for the

further development and implementation of the design intervention. These recommendations will

be presented in this section.

RELATION TO PHUBBINGThe evaluative tests pointed out people do not notice the relation between the device’s response and people’s phubbing behaviour. It is crucial for people to make this link, at least within a reasable time-span, as the absurdness of the device’s movement needs to be interpreted by people as absurdness of phone usage. Several possible reasons will now be given for why this link is not easily made. With each reason a corresponding recommendation is presented.

Other type of interventionIt can be concluded that phubbing is nowadays so common that people do not notice it any more. It will then be really hard to trigger people to make the connection between the device’s movement and people’s phubbing. On the one hand this is an interesting solution, as it proves the relevance of the intervention. People who are phubbing are so disconnected from their environment that they are, at least within bigger groups, ignored by the other people around them. This does however mean that any kind of intervention that aims to make people question their convictions by ‘directly responding to a person’s phone usage’, might not be very effective. It would then be wise to explore the other two directions again, with interventions that either ‘stimulate people to put their phone away’ or ‘blocking the phone signal’.

Closer feedbackAlthough people might not easily notice the phubbing behaviour of someone else in the group, it would be sufficient if only the person who is phubbing himself notices the relationship to the device’s movement. The fact that this didn’t happen during the evaluative tests, could be caused by people’s lack of attention to their surroundings. If people’s attention is indeed so focussed on their phone, it would be better to design a similar intervention that is closer to spot where the actual phubbing occurs. Possible improvemetns would then be for instance a wearable object around the arm-area, a chair that responds or a response

close the the table edge.

More direct linkWhat could also be of influence is the fact that so much is already happening in the context, that the actual relation between phubbing and the device’s response is blurred by all the other things that are happening. People then also easily draw the wrong conclusion, such as believing the device response to pens being taken out of the pen holder, as occured during one of the evaluative tests. It is therefore very important for the device to respond very directly and consistently to the actions on the phone. For instance, the device would need to respond immediately to the moment a person picks up a phone or the moment a message is send.

Stand-alone design objectThe evaluative tests gave reasons to reconsider whether blending the device in its environment (by giving it a function and hiding it underneath existing objects) is really a suitable option. People’s intense surprise to the sudden movement of the device might have interferred with the ability to notice the relation to phubbing, as they are not attentive beforehand that it would respond to something.

Therefore, it might be better for the device to be a stand-alone design object. The device would look like a small stone-like object that is prominently placed on the table. People will notice this more easily, question its functionality, realize it can move and be attentive that it might respond to something. Also, a stand-alone design could hint with its appearance and/or movement that it relates to the usage of phones. Now, the appearance of the device as being an ordinary object (e.g. coaster or pen holder) turned out to mislead to people as they perceived relations that weren’t there, such as the usage of pens. A design object that is perceived to have no clear function, will keep people unbiased.

Another positive effect of a stand-alone object, is that it allows a whole lot more variation in its movements. This allows it to better express the desired emotions of ‘asking attention’ and ‘playful disappointment.’

7.3

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE INTERVENTION

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taken to further develop the AttentionSeekers, here is a short overview:

Technical development: At this point, it would be wise to team up with technical experts, to further specify and concretize the technical possibilities. This will give an indication of costs and the investments needed.Design development: Simultaneously, further iterative user testing can be done with a stand-alone object. Variations can be tested in its appearance and movement, to find out what is most effective in confronting people with their usage.Marketing proposition: It would be useful to get an idea of which institutions would be interested in hosting such a device and whether they would be interested in investing in it. Furthermore, it would be interesting to investigate the possibility of teaming up with organizations, such as social, healthcare and governmental organizations, who are willing to invest in creative solutions that improve the wellfare of citizens.

Semantics to phoneAs pointed out in the previous paragraph, an eye-catching stand-alone design object will make people question what it responds to. By incorporating sematics to phones in the device’s appearance, e.g. size, shape, vibration, people might more easily see the link to phubbing. A hint could also be given on the bottom on the device, such as a symbol or quite, when people notice when they pick it up to investigate it.

No surprise effectAll the previous recommendations aimed to make people notice the relationship out of themselves, after a moment of interaction. This gives the device it’s absurdity and surprise effect, as people need to actively explore what just happened.However, as the main goal of the device is to make people question their conviction of missing out, the absurdness and surprise effect are only the means of reaching this. It might not be so important that people discover this link themselves. In that case, the device could either be marketed or designed in a way that people know this relation for the very start.

MOVEMENT OF THE DEVICEThe evaluative study indicated that the device should subtly grab people’s attention and playfully express disappointment. These emotional responses should be expressed through the movement of the device. Further research needs to be done to investigate which movements could do so. One suggestion could be for the device to moves around on its spot whilst twisting its body back and forth. As the movements persists, it gets more intense: the moving and the twisting increase in pase. Also, the area of movement increases. Another idea would be to imitate disappointment, by using the metaphor of breating air. The device first could gradually expands to grab people’s attention. At some point it starts ‘breathing heavily’ with shorter and shorter puffs, to express more pressure and stress. Eventually it makes a deep sigh by blowing out the air and slowely collapsing back in, expressing the disappointment.

FURTHER DEVELOPMENTTo give a quick impression of the steps that need to be

If people just don’t notice phubbing because it’s become so common, it might be better to explore alternative design interventions that do not aim to directly respond to a person’s phubbing.If people are too focussed on the area of their own phone, the intervention could be adapted by bringing the feedback closer to the area of phubbing.If people are distracted by the surroundings, the intervention could be improved by creating a very direct link to the person’s phubbing.A stand-alone design object might enable people to more easily discover it’s relation to phubbing, It also allows more variations in its movements and phone semantics to hint towards the relation.It might be sufficient to give away the relation beforehand, and thereby eliminate the surprise effect. The movement of the device needs further detailing and iterative testing to define what reaches the intended experience.

SUMMARY

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Looking back at the end of the project, the process and personal development have been discussed and reflected upon. Several of the insights on the process (section 8.1) and the personal development (section 8.2) that have been gained, can be found in this chapter.

PROCESS & PERSONAL INSIGHTS.

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After looking back on the entire project, several insights have been gained concerning the design

process and approach. This opens up a valuable discussion on designing for conflicting life-goals.

8.1

Designing for conflicting life-goals = designing for competencesThe PhD-research by Deger Ozkaramanli explores how designers can design for conflicting concerns. Up to the start of this graduation project, the research mainly focussed on conflicts between tempations and virtues. For such conflicts, the designer has a clear intention of promoting one behaviour over the other. The life-goal conflicts that have been examined in this graduation project are different: the conflicting concerns are of equal importance to the user and therefore the designer should stay neutral. The designer’s role is to support people in determining themselves which behaviour is better for them and help them make a choice.

In this project, life-goal conflicts have been perceived as valuable experiences that allow people to develop themselves. Eliminating life-goal conflicts is therefore not desired. However, people’s wellbeing can be negatively affected by life-goal conflicts, when people are not able to constructively deal with them. This project pointed out that in order for people to deal with life-goal conflicts constructively, they need to posess over certain competences (see Figure 44). When designing for life-goal conflicts, the aim is therefore to (A) determine which competence is underdeveloped, and (B) support people to develop this competence.

Design for mindset change VS design for behavior changeThe intention in this project has not been to change people’s behavior. The aim was therefore not to prohibit people from phubbing, although that could be seen as a positive side-effect. Instead, in this project the act of phubbing has been utilized to make people aware of their urge to constantly be up-to-date and change their mindset accordingly. This way, the behaviour is a means/carrier instead of a goal. Figure 45 illustrate the difference between these two design intentions. Even when the intention is to change people’s behavior, it might be more interesting to take the approach of designing for mindset change. This gives a more long-term and therefore sustainable impact as it makes people want to change their behavior.

Validating a change in mindsetThe evaluative study pointed out that it is hard to validate whether a design intervention has succeeded in a change of people’s mindset. Not only is it hard to measure, it’s also an effect that is suppossibly more long-term. It would be interesting for design research to develop research methods that are suitable for measuring mindset change.

Using the ViP approachIn this project the ViP approach has been used as the starting point was complex social and psychological issue.

PROCESS REFLECTION

Action A Action B

Motivation Motivation

Underlying competences

Choice

Figure 44 - Model of conflicting life-goals, including competences as one of the elements involved

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Value for health-care organizationsFor mental health organizations such as Trimbos, design interventions can inspire them to broaden their solution space. Their focus now lies on interventions with a person-approach, that require prior interest of the target audience for their own mental health. By collaborating with design and production organizations, they will be able to put more experiential interventions in the market that come from their environment. This way, it can affect the entire Dutch population and not only those people who already actively search for support or advice. This can be seen as the very first step in health-prevention.

Integrated design processFor any design project to be implementable in society and end up as a success, it needs to meet up to the following three factors: business, technology and necessity (see Figure 46). This means that the design will be profitable, is producable and positively contributes to people well-being or society. Ideally, these three factors are simultaneously present throughout the design process. This project was initiated from the necessity. The focus was to define what change is needed and design the interaction that allows this change to occur. It’s often challenging to decide when the

The approach has turned out to by useful as it addresses the issue from a holistic perspective and doesn’t allow any limitations as to what the design should eventually be. It therefore stays very abstract for a long time.

Formulating a vision turned out to be a very precise process. The vision was supposed to be specific enough to design for whilst not making any refinements that would limit the solution space. For this process, it turned out to be crucial to refer to a specific behaviour in the design vision. Without this specified behaviour, the vision remained to abstract.

Designerly VS psychological interventionsIt seems that intervening in a concrete behaviour distinguishes design solutions from typical used solution in psychology, such as campaigns and therapies. Designly interventions are direct and are blended into people’s daily lives, whereas psychological interventions are not context-related and remain passive advice. Design interventions affect all people who experience it, whereas psychological intervention only affect people who are already open to change. This illustrates how design interventions are more effective in changing people’s mindset before they are aware of their need to change.

Intervention in behavior

Behaviourchange

Mindset change

Question conviction on missing out

Intervene in compulsivephubbing

Less phubbing in social settings

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Figure 45 - Comparing ‘designing for behaviour change’ to ‘designing for mindset change’

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business and technology factor need to be incorporated and to what extend. Considering these two too early might limit the creative process, whereas considering them too late can undermine it’s feasibility. In any design project there will easily be a dominant factor and compromises that have to be made. The ideal combination of these three factors can possibly be found in design projects that are managed by a succesfull collaborations between businesses (where business and technology get the upper hand) are research institutions (where the necessity gets the upper hand).

Businessopportunities

Technologicalpossibilities

Societalnecessity

Figure 46 - Three factors that need to be balanced in any design process

Designing for life-goal conflicts means designing for competences. This way, the designer can support people in constructively dealing with the conflict themselves and thereby stays neutral.When designing for mindset change, behaviour seems to be a suitable means that allows the designer to intervene in a mindset. In fact, a concrete behaviour even seems to be a necessary element in the design vision, in order to come up with direct and context-related intervention that distinguish themselves from psychological interventions (such as therapies and campaigns)It would be interesting to develop research methods that can determine whether a designing intervention has succeeded in changing people’s mindset.In can be challenging to simultaneously incorporate the three factors business, technology and necessity in a design process. Suitable collaborations between industry and research institutions could come closest to realizing this.

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The entire graduation process has been an intense, exciting and often confronting journey. Most

importantly it has been a fruitful learning experience for me. Here, I’ll share with you my personal

experience of the process, what I learned about myself and how I’ve developed as a designer.

In the road towards my graduation project, I determined what I wanted to get out of the project. Two main aspects became clear to me. First of all, I wanted to use the opportunity of a self-initiated project to freely explore a social topic that fascinated me. Secondly, I wanted to combine my somewhat ideastic desire to improve society with the reality of business. I believed that by applying or relating my project to a company or institution, it would bring interesting challenges to the surface on how a wellbeing- or societal-drive design can exist in practice.

The broad starting point of exploring people’s high strivings gave me the freedom I desired. Naturally, this meant the project was open-ended and requirement me to swim in a bit of vagueness for a while. I knew when I startedthat I did not really have an idea of what I was getting myself into and expected I could find things out along the way. Still, I often felt overwhelmed and undirected, not sure how to put all the pieces together and what the next step could be. This forced me to completely step outside of my comfort zone. I had to develop my own process and accept that it things will get messy in my head before I can gain new insights. It was challenging to go through this, but forced me to decide what I believed would be best.

Throughout the project I’ve noticed these are two different mindsets that need to be balanced: being rational and being intuitive. I like working systematically and efficient, which is a skill I can put to use in analyzing and clarifying complex issues. It took some effort to switch from the rational mindset in the research phase to a more intuitive mindset for the vision- and design phase.

The transition from the open-ended research phase to the focussed design-phase was quite a struggle. It felt like I was stuck for quite a while, which I interpreted as a sign of failure. I felt inefficient as I didn’t seem to get anywhere. I now realize that getting stuck is only natural and eventually will lead to new insights. This takes time and cannot be fully controlled. This period in which I felt stuck made me so stressed and insecure at some point that I was a quite

down and unhappy. I’ve always had a critical attitude towards my own work which drives me to constantly improve, but at this point in the project I realized it was becoming counterproductive and I was taking the work too personal. I’m very glad I experienced this confrontation as it made me realize I need to be aware of this. My insecurities inhibited me at times to confidently communicate and make decisions. These are two important skills for a designer, which I need to improve on.

Throughout the concept development, I clearly noticed how the concern for a realistic intervention and the concern for an ideal and inspiring intervention often required different design decisions. I’m glad I got the opportunity to conciously think about how I want to balance these two. An intervention that’s on the edge and innovative is most fun to work on for me, but it has to be practical to keep me satisfied. It would describe it as critical design - aiming to make people think (just like art) whilst blending in people’s daily life (just like everyday objects).

The evaluative study pointed out how important it is to test the interaction with users. Things turn out differently as expected: I hadn’t foreseen that relating the device’s movement to phubbing would be so challenging. I do not see this as a failure in my process as it gave very useful insights. However it did make me realize that I might prefer a more iterative process, which enables quicker adaptationsand more flexibility. Especialy as I’m already quite systematic myself, a more iterative process might allow me to make quick decisions that can be adapted in each iteration.

Looking back, I’m really proud of having taken the step to immerse myself into this open-ended project which challenged me in so many ways. I’ve prolonged my education several times with an internship, study abroad and extra courses, because I felt like there were still too many interesting things to explore as a student. But now, I feel ready to end my student-life and excited to take the next step: to get ‘into the wild’ and be a real designer!

8.2

PERSONAL REFLECTION

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Many people have supported me during this project and contributed to its development. Here, I want to take a moment to thank all of you.

Deger and Paul, without the two of you this project wouldn’t have been what it is today. You gave me the opportunity to explore my own fascination in such an open-ended and self-initiated project, for which I’m really grateful. You both allowed me to develop my own process and make my own choices, whilst supporting me when I needed it. Deger, I’ve really enjoyed all our talks and discussions throughout the project. You’ve always been very involved and understanding and made me believe in the value of my work. I couldn’t have wished for a better mentor.Paul, your always managed to pinpoint the most crucial aspects and ask the right questions that allowed me to steer the project in the right direction. Your direct feedback and sincere interest in the project have been very valuable to me and pushed me to the next level. It was a pleasure to have you as my chair.

Linda, thank you for giving me the opportunity to relate my project to the work of Trimbos. It’s been interesting to explore how design and psychology can work together. I appreciate our talks on how this project and your efforts to connect me to other people.

Through the project I’ve talked to several experts who have inspired me with valuable feedback and discussions. For this I’d like to thank Jan Walburg, Onno Hamburger and Saskia de Bel.

Also I want to thank all the participants from both the user study and the evaluative tests, for taking the time to participate in one of the studies.

A special thanks goes out to Carlo from the PMB and Arvid from RoboMinds, for your enthousiasm whilst helping me out.

I want to thank my family and friends for patiently listening and enthousiastically responding to all my stories and thoughts on my graduation throughout the past months. Especially, I’d like to thank my coffee break buddies: Hester, Kim, Rosel, Anna, Tom, Karim and Jeroen. Also I want to thank my friends Emanuela, Anna, Elke, Nine and Milou for mental support and fun distractions. Same goes for my awesome roommates Ymke, Seline, Scott, Jelle, Jasper and Sophie: you guys are the best! Also a thanks goes out to the DROP-surf group and the locals for an awesome surf-break in Taghazout, which was just what I needed at that time.

But most of all, I want to say a huge thanks my parents Nienke and Ferdinand for supporting me thoughout my entire education, allowing me to develop myself and most importantly, for always being there for me and believing in me.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

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Austin, J.T., & Vancouver, J. B. (1996). Goal constructs in psychology: Structure, process, and content. Psychological Bulletin, Vol 120 (3), 338-375.

Baar, van, J. (2014) De Prestatiegeneratie. Atlas Contact.

Bergsma, A. & Schaufeli, W. (2013). Positieve psychology in organisaties. Handboek positieve psychologie. Meppel: Boom.

Boer, de, J. (2011). Jonge vrouwen zonder gezin verhoogd risico op burn-out. Downloaded from http://www.psychologisch.nu/content/jonge-vrouwen-zonder-gezin-verhoogd-risico-op-burn-out.

Bolier, L., Haverman, M., Walburg, J.A. (2010). Mental Fitness – Verbeter je mentale conditie. Boom.

Botton, de, A. (2011). Status anxiety. Vintage International.

Brunstein, J.C., (1993). Personal goals and subjective well-being: A longitudinal study. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol 65(5), Nov 1993, 1061-1070.

Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek & TNO (2011). Meer werknemers met burn-outklachten. Downloaded on 05-11-2013 from http://www.cbs.nl/nl-NL/menu/themas/arbeid-sociale-zekerheid/publicaties/artikelen/archief/2011/2011-3493-wm.htm.

Cialdini, R. B. (2000). Influence: Science and practice. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. Taken from: http://psychology.about.com/od/socialinfluence/f/rule-of-commitment.htm

Deci, E. & Ryan, R. (2000). The “What” and “Why” of Goal Pursuits: Human Needs and the Self-Determination of Behaviour. Psychological Inquiry, Vol 11, No. 4, pp 227-268.

Desmet, P.M.A., & Pohlmeyer, E. (2013). Positive Design: An Introduction to Design for Subjective Well-Being. International Journal of Design, Vol 7, No. 3.

Eckersley R. (2006). Is modern Western culture a health hazard? International Journal of Epidemiology, vol. 35, pp. 252-258.

Emmons, K. (1988). Conflict Among Personal Strivings: Immediate and Long-term Implications for Psychological and Physical Well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol 54, No. 6, pp 1040-1048.

Ford, M.E. (1992). Motivating Humans: Goals, Emotions, and Personal Agency Beliefs. Sage Publications.

Fredrickson, B. L. (2003). The Value of Positive Emotions. American Scientist, Volume 91.

Greef, de, R. (2013). Gebrek aan hectiek. NRC-next, 12-06.

Greenhaus, J.H., & Beutell, N.J. (1985). Sources of Conflict between Work and Family Roles. The Academy of Management Review, Vol. 10, No. 1 (Jan., 1985), pp. 76-88.

Gy. Kökönyei, M. Reinhardt, P. Pajkossy, B. Kiss, Zs. Demetrovics (2008). Characteristics of personal strivings and their relationship to life satisfaction. Cognition, Brain, Behavior. An Interdisciplinary Journal, Volume XII, No. 4, 409-433.

Herman, D. (2011). Understanding FoMo. Downloaden on 20-04-2014 from http://fomofearofmissingout.com/fomo

Hamburger, O., & Bergsma, A. (2011). Gelukkig werken. Boom/nelissen.

Han, B.C. (2012). De vermoeide samenleving. Gennep B.V.

Haring, B. (2007). Voor een echt succesvol leven. Nijgh & Van Ditmar.

Hassenzahl, M. (2011). Towards an aesthetics of friction. TEDx talk at HogeschoolUtrecht.

Jackson, D., Firtko, A., Edenborough, M. (2007). Personal resilience as a strategy for surviving and thriving in the face of workplace adversity: a literature review. Journal of Advanced Nursing, Vol 60, No 1, pp 1–9.

Kopelman, R., Greenhaus, J.H., Connolly, T.F. (1983). A Model of Work, Family and Interrole Conflict: A construct Validation Study. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, Vol 32(2), 198-215.

Laurans, G. & Desmet, P.M.A. (2012), Introducing PrEmo2, New directions for the non-verbal measurement of emotion in design. 8th International Design and Emotion Conference London 2012.

Lyubormisky, S. (2008). The How of Happiness: A scientific approach to getting the life you want. New York: Penguin Press.

REFERENCES

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sleep disturbances, and symptoms of depression. University of Gothenburg.

Visser, de, E. (2013). Waarom lijkt ‘s nachts alles zoveer erger? Volkskrant, 11-11-2013.

ONLINE MATERIALS

‘Stop Phubbing’ (webpage) - http://stopphubbing.com, last downloaded on 16-05-2014.

‘Phubbing, a word is born’ (movie) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSOfuUYCV_0.

IMAGE REFERENCES

Front page: Based on icons http://thenounproject.com, by Melonnie Manohar (sitting), Luis Prado (texting & reading), Bart Laugs (worker), Endre Samson Kiss (family) & Juan Pablo Bravo (soccer)

Marchese, M., Bassham, G., Ryan, J. (2002). Work-Family Conflict: A Virtue Ethics Analysis. Journal of Business Ethics 40: 145–154.

Mullainathan, S., & Shafir, E. (2013). Schaarste. - Hoe gebrek aan tijd en geld ons gedrag bepalen. Maven Publishing.Oulasvirta, A., Rattenbury , T., Ma, L., Raita, E. (2010). Habits make smartphone use more persasive. London, Springer-Verlag

Ozkaramanli, D., Desmet, P.M.A., Hekkert, P. (2012). Proud to be in control. Understanding conflicts and initial principles for conflict-inspired design approaches. 8th International Design and Emotion Conference London

Passenier, P. (2012). Een generatie zonder herstelvermogen. Advisie, april.

Przybylskia, A.K., Murayamab, K., DeHaanc, C.R., Gladwell, V. (2013). Motivational, emotional, and behavioral correlates of fear of missing out. Computers in Human Behavior, Volume 29, Issue 4, July 2013, Pages 1841–1848.

Riediger, M., & Freund, A.M. (2004). Interference and Facilitation Among Personal Goals: Differential Associations With Subjective Well-Being and Persistent Goal Pursuit. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 30, pp 1511.

Riediger, M., & Freund, A.M. (2008). Me against Myself: Motivational Conflict and Emotional Development in Adulthood. American

Schwartz, B. (2000). Self-determination: The tyranny of freedom. American Psychologist, 55, 79-88.

Seligman, M. & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2000). Positive Psychology, an introduction. American Psychologist, Vol 55, No. 1, 5-14.

Seligman, M. (2002). Authentic happiness: Using the new positive psychology to realize your potential for lasting fulfillment. New York: The Free Press.

Sirgy, J. & Wu, J. (2007). The pleasant life, the engaged life and the meaningful life: What about the balanced life? Journal of Happiness Studies, 10, 183–196.

Thomée, S. (2012). ICT use and mental health in young adults. Effects of computer and mobile phone use on stress,

All additional documents that support the graduation report

have been collected here.

PART VAPPENDICE

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A PART I · INTRODUCTION TO THE THESIS

4 Chapter 1 - Starting point 4 A1 - Relevant media

TABLE OF CONTENT

B PART II · ANALYSIS PHASE

6 Chapter 2 - Background theory6 B1 - Goal taxonomy

7 Chapter 3 - Experiencing conflicting life-goals 7 B2 - User study - Senzitising booklets

9 B3 - User study - Participants profiles

11 B4 - User study - Conflict examples

17 Chapter 4 - The framework17 B5 - Context factors

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C PART III · DESIGN PHASE

20 Chapter 6 - Design intervention20 C1 - Ideation

24 C2 - Concpet guidelines

25 C3 - Concept choice

26 C4 - Storyboard of initial concept

28 C5 - Design detailing

32 C6 - Design inspiration

D PART IV · DISCUSSION

36 Chapter 7 - Evaluation of intervention36 D1 - Prototyping

39 D2 - Evaluative study - detailed setup

42 D3 -Evaluative study - team 1

45 D4 -Evaluative study - team 2

47 D5 -Evaluative study - team 3

50 D6 -Evaluative study - team 4

52 D7 -Evaluative study - team 5

54 D8 -Evaluative study - PrEmo results RQ 1 & 2

55 D9 -Evaluative study - additional discussion RQ 2

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Here are several articles, documentaries, books and columns (most in Dutch) that relate to the social phenomenon of ‘high strivings’ and inspired me to dive into this topic for my graduation.

A1 POPULAR MEDIA ON ‘HIGH STRIVINGS’

ALLES WAT WE WILDENSARAH DOMOGALA, VPRO, 2010In een omgeving van ‘meer is beter’, lijkt ‘genoeg’ niet meer te bestaan. De film volgt vier jonge, creatieve, ambitieuze mensen die ogenschijnlijk een glanzend en gelukkig leven leiden. Gaandeweg wordt zichtbaar wat het van hen vergt om alle ballen in de lucht te houden.

http://www.hollanddoc.nl/kijk-luister/documentaire/a/alles-wat-we-wilden.html

BURNOUT EN JONGERENPAUL ROSENMÖLLER, SPRAAKMAKENDE ZAKEN, 2013Studenten, starters en begin dertigers die volledig opgebrand thuis zitten, totaal vermoeid en tot niets in staat. Het overkomt steeds meer jongeren in de leeftijd van 25 tot 35 jaar. Hoe kan het dat ze zo jong al volledig opbranden?

http://www.ikonrtv.nl/uitzendingDyn.aspx?lIntType=12&lIntEntityId=1234

DOEN & LATENANNELOOR HEEMSTRA, BOS, 2012Met een knipoog en de nodige zelfspot gaat Anneloor op zoek naar zichzelf te midden van haar stressvolle bestaan. Al enige tijd kampt ze met ernstige vermoeidheidsver-schijnselen en duizeligheid. Van haar huisarts krijgt ze te horen dat ze mogelijk tegen een burnout aanloopt als ze niet per direct rust neemt. Dat is het begin van een persoonlijke Waarom levert het streven naar geluk toch zoveel stress op?

http://www.bosrtv.nl/uitzending.aspx?lInt-Year=2012&lIntType=0&lIntEntityId=1525

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WHY GENERATION Y YUPPIES ARE UNHAPPY, WAIT BUT WHY, 2013A web article on so called GYPSY’s, where happiness is people’s reality minus their expectations. As GYPSY’s believe they are special and set their expectations way to high, they are left frustrated and disappointed.

http://waitbutwhy.com/2013/09/why-generation-y-yuppies-are-unhappy.html

DE PRESTATIE GENERATIEJEROEN VAN BAAR, ATLAS, 2014In De prestatiegeneratie onderzoekt Jeroen van Baar waar zijn drang naar excelleren vandaan komt. Hij legt niet alleen zichzelf langs de meetlat maar zijn hele generatie: van solliciterende high potentials tot hipsters in Amsterdam. Waarom wil iedereen de top bereiken?

GEBREK AAN HECTIEKRENSKE DE GREEF, NRC NEXT, 12 JUNI 2013Een column over de social druk op mensen om druk te zijn, te moeten genieten, ergens met passie voor te werken en daardoor een schuldgevoel krijgen van vrije tijd.

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I. DESIRED WITHIN-PERSON CONSEQUENCES

a. Affective goals1. Entertainment — experiencing excitement, arousal; avoiding boredom2. Tranquility — feeling relaxed and at ease; avoiding stressful over-arousal.3. Happiness — experiencing joy, satisfaction; avoiding emotional distress4. Bodily sensations — experiencing pleasurea ssociated with physical sensations, movement, or body contact; avoiding unpleasant bodily sensations5. Physical well-being — feeling healthy, energetic; avoiding feelings of lethargy, weakness or ill health

b. Cognitive goals6. Exploration — satisfying curiosity about personally meaningful events; avoiding a sense of being uninformed7. Understanding — gaining knowledge; avoiding misconceptions.8. Intellectual creativity — engaging in original thinking, using novel ideas; avoiding mindless or familiar way of thinking9. Positive self-evaluation — maintaining a sense of elf-confidence, pride or self-worth; avoiding feelings of failure, guilt, or incompetence

c. Subjective organizational goals10. Unity — experiencing a profound or spiritual sense of connectedness, harmony with people, nature, or a greater power; avoiding feelings of psychological disunity or disorganization11. Transcendence — experiencing optimal or ordinary states of functioning; avoiding feeling trapped within the boundaries of ordinary experience

II. DESIRED PERSON-ENVIRONMENT CONSEQUENCES

a. Self-assertive social relationship goals12. Individuality — feeling unique, special, or different; avoiding similarity or conformity with others13. Self-determination — experiencing freedom to make choices; avoiding feelings of being pressured, constrained or coerced14. Superiority — comparing favorably to others in terms of winning, status, or success; avoiding unfavorable comparisons15. Resource acquisition — obtaining approval, support, advice, or validation from others

b. Integrative social relationship goals16. Belongingness — building and maintaining attachments, friendships, intimacy, or a sense of community; avoiding feelings of social isolation17. Social responsibility — keeping interpersonal commitments, meeting social role obligations, conforming to social and moral rules; avoiding social transgressions and unethical or illegal conduct18. Equality — promoting fairness, justice, or quality; avoiding unjust or unfair actions19. Resource provision — giving approval, support, advice, or validation to others; avoiding selfish or uncaring behavior

c. Task goals20. Mastery — meeting a challenging standard of achievement or improvement; avoiding incompetence, mediocrity, or decrements in performance 21. Task creativity — engaging in activities involving artistic or creative expression; avoiding tasks that do not provide activities for creative action 22. Management — maintaining order, organization, or productivity in daily life tasks; avoiding sloppiness, inefficiency, or disorganization23. Material Gain — increasing amount of money or tangible goods one has; avoiding loss of money or material possession.24. Safety — being unharmed, physically secure, safe from risk; avoiding threatening, depriving or harmful circumstances

GOAL TAXONOMY BY FORD

From: Ford, M.E. (1992). Motivating Humans: Goals, Emotions, and Personal Agency Beliefs. Sage Publications.

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B2 USER STUDY - SENSITIZING BOOKLET

Omschrijf of teken hier hoe jouw leven eruit ziet

Dit boekje is van:

Mijn leven& omgaan met keuzes

Hoi, leuk dat je mee wilt doen aan mijn onderzoek!

Dit boekje is onderdeel van mijn afstudeerproject aan de master ‘Design for Interaction’ van de Technische Universiteit in Delft, wat ik doe in samenwerking met het Trimbos Instituut. Aan de hand van dit boekje en het hierop volgende interview, onderzoek ik hoe jij omgaat met alle belangrijke aspecten in jouw leven, zoals werk, familie, vrienden, gezondheid en vrije tijd. Ik ben benieuwd hoe jij in het dagelijkse leven deze aspecten invult en wanneer je het gevoel hebt dat je het ene voor het andere moet laten.

De opdrachten in dit boekje kun je in de komende drie dagen invullen. Elke dag is er een opdracht voor jou om in te vullen. Er zijn geen goede of foute antwoorden, omschrijf gewoon jouw persoonlijke ervaring en vertel wat in je opkomt!

Alle informatie die je met mij deelt is vertrouwelijk (zie volgende pagina). Als je nog vragen hebt, kun je altijd contact met mij opnemen:

Over dit boekje

1

Marit CoehoornTel: 06-30969235 Email: M.Coehoorn@gmail.com

Wij hebben allemaal meerdere aspecten in ons leven die belangrijk voor ons zijn, zoals werk, familie en gezondheid. Bedenk welke aspecten voor jou van grote betekenis zijn in je leven en plaats deze in de cirkels. Hoe belangrijker, hoe dichter je het bij het midden plaatst.

Wat belangrijk voor mij is

Heel

belangrijk

Minder

belangrijk

4

Alle aspecten die we herkennen in ons leven, zijn belangrijk voor ons omdat het ons helpt bepaalde behoeftes te vervullen. Kies de drie belangrijkste aspecten die je op de pagina hiernaast hebt ingevuld. Bedenk en omschrijf waarom elk aspect belangrijk voor je is en welke activiteiten je onderneemt om tevreden te zijn over dat aspect in je leven.

Wat ik daarvoor doe

#1 #2 #3

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5

Jouw deelname aan dit onderzoek is volledig vrijwillig. Je mag dus elk moment stoppen of een bepaalde vraag niet invullen als je je daar niet prettig bij voelt. Alle informatie die je met mij deelt in dit boekje en in het hierop volgende interview, zullen vertrouwelijk worden behandeld en alleen gebruikt worden voor mijn afstudeerproject. Je naam zal niet gelinkt worden aan de informatie die je levert en je zult dus volledig anoniem blijven. Mocht je vragen hebben over het project of jouw rol in dit onderzoek, dan kunt u altijd contact met me opnemen via mijn mail M.Coehoorn@student.tudelft.nl, of bellen op 06-30969235.

Door hieronder uw handtekening te zetten, geeft je aan bovenstaande informatie te hebben gelezen en graag mee te doen aan dit onderzoek.

Vertrouwelijkheid

Naam en handtekening van onderzoeker

.....................................

Datum

.....................................

Naam en handtekening van deelnemer

.....................................

Datum

..................................... 2Dag 1

Belangrijke aspecten in mijn leven

Wat belangrijk voor mij is en wat ik daarvoor doe.

Dag 2

Conflicterendeaspecten

Gister heb jij aspecten opgeschreven die belangrijk zijn in jouw leven, en wat voor activiteiten jij onderneemt om elk aspect te

vervullen.

Vandaag gaan we kijken naar situaties waarin twee belangrijke aspecten in ons leven niet samen gaan, en dus een conflict opleveren. Dit kan komen door gebrek aan tijd of energie, of

doordat de situatie tegenstrijdig gedrag van ons vraagt.

Soms hebben we een situatie waarin we twee activiteiten door gebrek aan tijd niet allebei kunnen uitvoeren. Bedenk een situatie waarin jij dit laatst meemaakte. Beschrijf de situatie en waarom je te weinig tijd voor beide had.

Gebrek aan tijd ���� ��������������������������� � ������

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Te druk met ...

In dit schema staan vier situaties. Bedenk voor elk van de situaties wanneer jij laatst zoiets meemaakte en omschrijf de situatie.

Je bent zo druk met werk, waardoor je geen tijd of energie meer hebt voor een ander belangrijk aspect in je leven.

Je bent zo druk met je vrienden, familie of partner, dat je geen tijd of energie meer hebt voor een ander belangrijk aspect in je leven.

Werk Relaties

Je bent zo druk met een belangrijk aspect in je leven, dat je werk eronder te lijden heeft.

Je bent zo druk met een belangrijk aspect in je leven, dat een relatie (vrienden, familie of partner) eronder te lijden heeft.

Werk Relaties

WERK

WERK

RELATIES

RELATIES

Geen tijd of aandacht voor..

Soms hebben we een situatie waarin de ene activiteit al zoveel energie van ons heeft gevraagd, dat we geen energie of fut meer hebben voor een andere activiteit. Bedenk een situatie waarin jij dit laatst meemaakte. Beschrijf de situatie, waarom je geen meer energie had en waardoor dat kwam.

Gebrek aan energie ���� ������� ��� ��������������

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8

Soms hebben we een situatie waarin we ons op verschillende manier kunnen gedragen en aarzelen we hoe we met de situatie om willen gaan. Zowel het ene als het andere gedrag heeft minder leuke gevolgen. Bedenk een situatie waarin jij dit laatst meemaakte. Beschrijf de situatie en waarom je het ene dan wel en het andere gedrag zou willen vertonen.

Tegenstrijdig gedrag���� ������� ��� ��� ���� ��� ������� ������� � � ������������������ ����� � ��� ������ � ��������� ��� � ������������� ����� ����� ��� ��� ����������� ������������

9

Omgaan met werk en relaties

Twee aspecten zijn in het leven van veel mensen erg belangrijk: werk en relaties. Uit beide halen we veel

voldoening, maar we moeten er ook veel tijd en energie in stoppen.

Vandaag gaat de opdracht over hoe werk en relaties invloed hebben elkaar en andere aspecten ons leven.

Dag 3

Is er verder nog iets dat je kwijt zou willen over het onderwerp? Of heb je opmerkingen en tips over het onderzoek? Laat met me hier weten!

Je kunt dit boekje aan mij teruggeven/sturen. Ik zal dan een afspraak met je plannen voor een interview. Daarin zal ik verder doorvragen op

de situaties die je hebt omschreven in dit boekje. Het interview zal ongeveer 30 minuten duren.

De informatie die je met me hebt gedeeld is voor mij heel waardevol. Bedankt voor je tijd en moeite, ik hoop dat je het met plezier hebt kunnen invullen.

Bedankt voor het invullen!

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USER STUDY - PARTICIPANT PROFILESB3

AndrewImportant to me are...

High aims within projects

Always being there for my kids

Helping and connecting others

Windsurfing

Involving my family in everything

I’m Andrew, 39 yrs, entrepeneur with many projects going on. I’m a walking brainstorm.

My wife works 4 days and we have two kids of 5 and 2,5 yrs old. I have a lot of hobbies and interest, one of which is windsurfing. When

things are calm in the mind, I’m able to enjoy everything all the time.”

WinaImportant to me are...

Being open to friends

PaintingHelping clients at

work

Being there for my daughter

I’m Wina, 55 yrs old, married and work 20 hrs a week in a store. I have two grown up kids and two grandkids. I enjoy painting, working in the garden en exercising. I have a hard time saying

‘no’, relationships are very important to me. I like spontanuity over planning. My health

Taking care of my fatherRunning

Important to me are...

Being there for the kids

Avoiding conflictsManaging my

household Care for the family

Attention for work

Time for myself

Sylvia“I am Sylvia, 42 yrs old, married and

mother of two kids of the ages 9 and 13. Besides my work of 20hrs a week, I’m busy

with my household and the kids. I often spend too little time on myself. I need to know what I’m up to. I find it hard to ask

for help. I’m quite insecure and wish I was more spontaneous.”

Elina Important to me are...

Challenges at work

Having a close family

Taking care of my sonTime with partner

Relaxing with friends

Taking care of my parents

I’m Elina, 40 yrs old and have a busy job of four days a week. My husband works a lot too. My son of 12 yrs and my parents need a lot of care and attention. I would like to exercise more and see my friends, but lately I haven’t

managed to attend to that. I don’t control how busy my life is, it all happens to me.”

Note: the names and portraits of the participants have been altered to ensure their privacy

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Jorik

Joop

Marieke

FleurImportant to me are...

Getting the most out of myself

Balancing work and relaxation

Balancing time for myself and time with friends

Hobby’s and obligations

Important to me are...

Developing at work

Challenges of projects outside of work

Seeing girlfriend

Social life with friendsExercising

Important to me are...

Seeing my kids grow up

Performing well at work

Having control

Partner, being each other’s inspiration

Project on the home

Music

Important to me are...Taking care of my

kidsPerforming well at work

Relaxing with friends

Attention for partner

Yoga and running

Photography

Hi, I’m Marieke, 34 yrs old mother or two small kids. My husband works fulltime. The past

years, my kids mostly determine what I do. I notice I’m better at meeting my goals now with

this tight schedule, than before I had kids. However, I did have to give up yoga. I can still go out with friends, but less spontaneously. I

have to plan very conciously now.

I’m Joop, 35 yrs old, married and two small kids. I have a three day job, work for

myself one day and have one daddy-day. I used to have a job that conflicted with my

family life. I love music and wish I had more time to work on projects at my home.

I’m Jorik, 27 yrs old, and do a traineeship of about 50 hrs a week. I’m often away

from home for a couple of days. I have a busy social life in which I try to meet

many different friends, and I also plan in seeing my girlfriend regularly. I like having

a busy life.

I am Fleur, 26 yrs old and recovering from a burnout. I tried to take on a 3-day job whilst keeping my own projects and voluntary work on the same level. I felt like this was my only change to prove what I am capable of. I want

to be able to compare myself to how other people deal with similar situations, to be able

to define what is normal to me.

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B4 USER STUDY - ALL CONFLICT EXPERIENCES

SPEAK MY MIND

Positive self-evaluation

Stand up for myself

Not hurt others

Belonging

CARE FOR OTHERS

Resource provision

Being there for mother and child

Time for myself

Tranquility

REACT TO LOVED ONES

Tranquility

Expressing my frustrations

Being kind to others

Belonging

ASK FOR HELP

Tranquility

Asking for help Manage by myself

Superiority

INTRODUCE MYSELF

Management

Concentrate on work

Introduce to new collegue

Belonging

There was a period when my mother was ill and my kid needed extra attention at school and needed to go to fysio and health checks. These two activities became my priority, next to my work. I was able to commit to all, but the period after that I had to

plan in more time for myself of else I would have gotten sick. I can neglect my own needs for a while

but not forever.

Sometimes I find it hard to say that I’m not happy with something. For instance, at work there was

something bothering me, but I didn’t want to discuss it with my boss before I had everything

under control in my mind. I wanted to stand up for myself, but not hurt others. I kept thinking about it at night. Eventually I wrote down what I wanted to

say and was able to talk to my boss.

Sometimes I ask too little help. When I’ve worked and am tired and my husband comes home, he will easily do nothing if I don’t ask. But when I ask, he

immediately will help.

When I have less energy, I notice I become very curt and react unkindly to my partner and kids. He

notices and will try to take of some burdens. I feel guilty towards the kids for reaction the way I do, and try to fix it by explaining that it is not their

fault. I will blame myself for my behaviour. I’m quite harsh on myself. The kids notice as well when I’m stressed, because I probably show some tension.

A while ago at work there was a new collegue whom I did not have the time to properly meet

because I was busy at the counter. I blamed myself for not being more open and polite to her. I wish I could be more spontaneous in such situations. I

know it’s not a big deal and I can fix that the next day, but still I feel bad about it.

MANAGE ALL MYSELF

Management

Do all tasks Ask for help and take rest

Relaxation

At the age of 23 I worked four days, went to school one day and just moved in with my boyfriend. I felt like I had to manage everything perfectly but had a hard time doing so. At one moment I went crying to

my mother telling her I did not know how to combine everything any longer. I couldn’t build in

moment of rest in my life. My mother adviced to ask for more help of my partner and not try to do it all

myself.

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HAPPY WITH LESS

Relaxation

Take rest Revalidate

Physical health

NEW RHYTM

Habit

Do like we used to

Change routine

Management

DEMANDING DAUGHTER

Management

Say ‘No’ Avoid confrontation

Belonging

DOWN FROM WORK

Positive self-evaluation

Going to work Painting

Creativity

PREFER SPONTANEOUS

Positive self-evaluation

Avoid failure Live up to expectations

Belonging

SAYING YES TO EVERYTHING

Relaxation

Giving up on tasks

Doing all tasks

Enjoyment

After an accident, I had to revalidate regularly. I often don’t manage to do so, even with the gym

around the corner. When I’m home I often just want to ly down on the couch. Although I am annoyed by

it, I know I have to force myself to ‘no do’ some-times, and be satisfied with it. I have to accept that

because I already work so much, I can’t expect myself to also perform optimally on the rest.

When our older kid went to school, our whole system had to change. We had to get used to a new rhythm in life, and decide on things like ‘who picks

him up’. We made clear agreements and had to create a new rhythm with the rest of our lives.

My daughter can demand a lot of attention. I am afraid to say ‘no’ to her. Even though I’m angry

about it, I swallow it and reset my plans to be there for her. I avoid confrontation, because my

relationship with her is more important to me.

There is a negative atmosphere at work, which demands a lot of energy. In the evening, I don’t have

any more energy to paint or even read a book. I’m therefore looking for a new job now. Just giving up

is not an option, as it feels like giving up. It helps to talk to friends about it.

I used to think everything was fun to do and I was always enthousiastic, therefore I never said ‘no’. I had all the energy for it, but it had to go wrong at some point of course. I didn’t even notice it myself, only until I had a constant pressure on my head

that I started to worry. I became over-strained and had to do less from the doctor.

I don’t like to plan activities that much, as it increases the expectations of it. For instance, when

some friends come over for dinner and we’ve planned it in advance, I feel to much pressure to be a good host. When they just ring that afternoon is they can come over, I enjoy it much more because I

feel less expectations.

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URGENT FIRST

Belonging

Attention for family

Tending to unexpected urgent activities

Management

HECTIC PERIOD

Management

Attention to all three matters

Time for myself

Relaxation

UNDERESTIMATE TIME

Enjoyment

Doing all tasks

Giving up some tasks

Management

MOTIVATE TO EXERCISE

Tranquility

Exercising Daily obligations

Management

INSTANT WINDSURFING

Physical wellbeing

Windsurfing Work

Management

LETTING GO OF WORK

Tranquility

Speak my mind Maintain relationship

Belonging

There once were three unexpected urgent matters at the same time: my mother was ill, my kid had his

first week at school and there was a deadline at work. I constantly had to shift focus. In my mind I had to organize a lot of things constantly, which took a lot of energy. I managed but afterwards all other thing I had negleced come back all at once, such as work tasks and seeing friends. I did not

tend to myself for a long time.

Sometimes I want to drop everything to go wind-surfing. But there are things at work I then have to

do, such as an appointment I can’t cancel.

I have to be careful not to take all my sorrows and passions from work home. I don’t want to ventilate everything to my wife who is busy with other things

at that moment. I had to learn to temper my enthousiasm, dose it, and give it a place before I go home. I do so by noting everything down that keeps me occupied, in a big Word-file. If I don’t, I can stay

up all night thinking about it.

Exercise if often the first thing I will let go of. There is often something more important that comes along. Because I fail at exercising, my condition is bad which makes me even more demotivated. I only do individual sports to prevent feeling guilty towards others. I set

concrete goals for myself, such as enrolling in a running race, to force myself.

I regularly underestimate how much time a certain commitment will take. I take on tasks,

such as helping out on an event at school, because I like to do them, but then all together

the tasks are too much and there are many little things I have to do that I did not forsee.

In my daily life, my priorities switch constantly. For instance, I might have meant to be at home with my family. But something urgent will come along that I can’t do at another moment, such as a work deadline or a old friend who’s in the neighborhood.

I try to control this by having some basic rules, such as always having dinner together and doing

away for a weekend every now and then.

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I had the idea that I would have enough time left for hobbies when I got kids. Even though I did have the time, I did not expect to not have any more energy for many things. For a long

time, I did not want to admit that energy was a valid constraint. I had not seen that coming.

Often my friends call to go out, but I’m too tired from the entire week. I don’t want to bother my friends with things that are on my mind. I don’t want to explain to them, because they wouldn’t

understand. I wish I could be open about it, butat such a moment I will give other reasons

for not being able to join, to avoid a confrontation.

In weekend, commitments to see friendsMight not feel like it last-minute.

Postpone decison, make up my mind moment itself.

When I was a student, I got a unjury from an accident and had to take it more slow for a while. I couldn’t return to my old level of performance.

Other people had to point out to me that I had to take things more slowely. I had to accept energy

as a valid constraint.

RECOVER FROM INJURYPositive

self-evaluation

Doing all tasks

Giving up on tasks

Tranquility

FRIENDS IN THE WEEKEND

Social responsibility

Meet commitments

Time for myself

Tranquility

FRIENDS DON’T GET IT

Individuality

Being open saying ‘no’

Giving excuses

Belonging

OVERESTIMATE ENERGY

Positive self-evaluation

Doing all tasks

Giving up on tasks

Tranquility

TIME FOR PARTNER

Belonging

Going out Spending quality time with my husband

Belonging

NO MORE YOGA

Physical health

Going to yoga Meeting work and household obligations

Management

I had yoga on fixed times which was so stressful that the yoga didn’t make me relaxed any more. I

had to hurry and make sure my husband would be home on time. And I reacted my frustration to my

kids. It also affected my work the next day because I would go to bed later. I now cancelled yoga and

try do get some exercise my walking or cycling with my kids. One way I’ll have time again to properly

exercise.

My husband and I have the agreement that we have at least one evening a week to enjoy together, and fix a babysitter for that. If we

don’t do this, we both end up going out only with our friends but never together, because

it’s so much easier to not have to get a babysitter.

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I worked 4 days a week and had one daddy day. But on this day I was still expected to be on stand-by for

work (e.g. client calls). Because of the daddy day I performed less than my collegues who all worked

full-time, but at the same time I was distracted when playing with my kid. I decided after seeking advice at dad, to focus on my kids first for now. In my current

job I build in a buffer so they don’t conflict any more.

These was a period when I had a sick family member. I tried to finish things more easily at

work, which affected the quality of it. If I hadn’t told anything at work, they would have thought I

was not performing well. Eventually I informed my supervisor so he would understand the reason for

my decreased performance and could reassign some tasks to other people temporarily.

MISS OUT ON FUN

Mastery

Go to bed Hang out with freinds

Belonging

DOUBLE APPOINTMENT

Belonging

Hang out with old friends

Go to a party from work

Belonging

TOO MUCH TO ENJOY

Mastery

Get challenged Take it easy

Relaxation

NOT ENOUGH CHALLENGE

Relaxation

Take it easy Get challenged

Mastery

INFORM SUPERVISOR

Management

Perform at work

Take care of family member

Resourceprovision

WORK OR KIDS?

Superiority

Perform at work

Take care of kids

Belonging

I had plans with old roommates, but last-minute I heard there was a Christmas party from work. The night with friends turned out to be disap-

pointing, so I felt like I made the wrong decision. But my rule is ‘first agreements first’, otherwise it becomes a chaos. But I’m not always happy with

my choices afterwards.

I enjoy being busy all the time. If I only had my work, I wouldn’t be challenged enough. I really

need to have different activities in which I meet new people, I get energy from that. I once had a

period in which I wanted to undertake more activities than my friends, which really sucked. I then became involved in a political party to meet

new people and get new challenges.

There have been periods in which every single activity was fun, but all together it was too much. I didn’t feel like going to anything. I now try not to plan any week too full. I keep in mind how much I

can take on in one week.

Although I worked, I still lived for a while in my student appartment. I would go to bed earlier then my roommates, which made me feel like I

was missing out on a lot of fun. I had to accept I could not join in on everything.

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COMPENSATING

Take care of self

Exercising, sleeping

Chores at home

Management

PICK UP THE PHONE?

Relaxation

Get a nap Call with friend

Belonging

NO LIMITS

Mastery

Accepting every change

Setting limitations

Tranquility

There are days I am away for work, when I have more time for exercising and sleeping enough. When I’m home again I have too many other

things to do that those easily slip through. The days away I use to compensate for the lack of exercise and sleep during my days at home.

I was freelancing and trying out different areas, in order to discover where my passion lies. I got offered a job of three days a week which I accepted, because

people told me the security it gave would be good. However, both were too much to combine but I didn’t

want to quit either one. I accepted every offer because I felt like I shouldn’t waste any change I got,

as it might not come among again.

Friend calls, but just about to sleep. Pick up phone or not?

I accepted a lot of project because I felt like others expected of me to do all. The idea is that if you want

to have success, you have to pursue your dreams. People told me this is the moment; I have to grab it

now before it passes. I felt pressure to perform.

I accepted a lot of project because I felt like others expected of me to do all. The idea is that if you want

to have success, you have to pursue your dreams. People told me this is the moment; I have to grab it

now before it passes. I felt pressure to perform. It was a fear to deprive myself and waste opportunities. I

was dependent of performing for my self-worth.

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FRICTION FOR GROWTH

Optimal growth

Finding optimumPeople experience flow when their demands are in balance with their competences (Deci & Ryan, 2000)Goals have a satisfaction-limit, meaning that going over the limit from one goal, will negatively affect another goal (Sirgy & Wu, 2007)Lowering or eliminating your own expectations provides equal satisfaction as achieving them (de Botton, 2011)

Constantly increasing strivingsPeople get used to their achievements, they always aim for new levels of success (de Botton, 2011)Humans are naturally active and growth-oriented, being a basis for intrinsic motivation (Deci & Ryan, 2000)The older people are, the more experience they have in combining all aspects (Andrew / Marieke / Joop)

Limitations

Take on too muchTaking on too much tasks affects your psysical wellbeing (Elina / Wina)Work has become more of a mentally instead of psysically challenging task (Bergsma & Schaufeli, 2013) People have more self-control and responsibilites in their work (Bergsma & Schaufeli, 2013)People underestimate the consequences of their decisions, making them take up more chores than they can handle (Eline, Wina)Having time to prepare allows oneself to set expectations and worry about potential failure (Wina)

Not accepting constraintsPeople do not easily accept ‘energy’ as a valid constraint (Joop / Marieke)Giving up on tasks or asking for help is seen as a sign of weakness (Eline / Wina / Sylvia)

External influence

Need for statusPeople are naturally inclined towards internalizing external regulations, in order to be part of a larger

social structure (Deci & Ryan, 2000) People treasure conflict, as it makes them feel important (own insight)Society’s calvinistic nature tells us that working hard is the norm (Bolier et al, 2010) + (de Botton, 2011)Being busy is perceived as good (de Greef, 2013)

CompetitivenessPeople compare themselves to others who are more succesful, and set their expectations accordingly (de Botton, 2011)People communicate their successes more easily than their failures, in order to be perceived as successful (Haring, 2007)Rules are made to secure a certain concern (Elina)People are better able to keep commited when they are forced to make a choice (own insight)

STEPPING BACK

Reflection moment

People lack more and more the ability to reflect and contemplate, as they constantly seek for stimuli (Han, 2012)Disruptions of your daily rhythm allow people to re-evaluate their life (Joop)You can only perform optimally when you rest regularly (Sylvia)Being able to put yourself in other people’s shoes, helps to change your perspective (Wina)Procastination is a source of stress but can also give room for contemplation (Bolier et al, 2010)People loose the bigger picture when they are stuck in the same situation for too long (Wina)Knowing your conflict is temporary, helps people accept it more (Elina / Marieke)

Power of perception

Gains over lossesPeople focus on the losses rather than the gains (own insight)Failure and setbacks demotivate people to try again (Elina)Being insecure or critical about yourself can help

B5 ALL CONTEXT FACTORS

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anywhere (own insight)Globalisation has led to the experience of the world as one global village (own insight)Young adults have been raised to belief anything is possible (own insight)Western culture scores high on individualism (Hofstede model)

Making choicesFreedom makes it harder to persevere and resist temptations. Restrictions make it easier to make the right choices (Marieke)Activities that are flexible, are easier for people to postpone (Eline / Wina)

EMOTIONAL STABILITY

Coping with conflictNeuroticism is one of the five personality factors, explaining that some people are more prone to negative emotions than other people (Hamburger, 2011)Mindfulness is becomes more popular in Western society (own insight)Resilience, the ability to recover from past, is a significant indicator of how people are effected by stressful situations on the long run (Jackson, 2007)Rumination, the degree to which a person worries about the future, is from evolutionary point of view a useful quality to prevent danger. It can however become counterproductive. (Visser, 2013)Knowing a conflict is temporary, helps people to accept it (Marieke)

PRIORITIZING

Having a focus

Knowing what’s importantPeople often do not know what is important to them (Bolier, 2010)People are more aware of what is important to them and make concious decisions when they have a tight schedule (Marieke)

prevent social failures (Sylvia)An evolutionary mechanism is to judge your situations more extreme at night, in order to prevent disasters (Visser, 2013)Choosing one option closes doors to all other options (Marieke)

Power of thinkingPeople can focus too much on the aspects they cannot influence (Bolier et al, 2010)40% of your happiness is defined by how you think (Bolier et al, 2010)

FRAME OF REFERENCE

Comparing yourselfPeople need to compare themselves to others to be able to define their own norms and values (Fleur)Communication tools enable people to compare themselves to anyone (own insight)People use other people as a point of reference, to justify their own actions (own insight)

Blurred linesWork settings are becoming more informal (own insight)Work and life activities are more blurred (own insight)Having the same role everywhere prevents conflicts (Joop / Andrew)Family settings are getting more diverse (own insight)

CONSTRAINED FREEDOM

Setting benefitial constraintsPeople like to feel consistent in their behaviour and beliefs (own insight). They therefore feel obligated to stick to commitments (Cialdini, 2000)People naturally develop rhythms and routines in their lives (Joop)

Overload of freedomToo much freedom of choice produces strain (de Botton, 2011) (Chan, 2012) Communication tools enable people to work from

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people closest to them (Marieke / Sylvia)People who highly value being social, have a harder time resisting help of others (de Boer, 2011)People think saying ‘yes’ makes them more lovable (Wina)

BEING IN CHARGE

Routine & easePeople treasure routine and habits

Repetition allows you to change your habits and develop new ones (Bolier, 2010)Positive emotions broaden your view and help you build new competences (Bolier, 2010)People develop rigid behaviour patterns which can be useful at first but become destructive (Deci & Ryan, 2000) + (Sylvia)

People take the path of least resistenceActivities that require little investment are more easily pursued (own insight)Neglecting or avoiding a conflict prevents it from becoming real (Joop)People naturally go for the easiest way (Marieke)

Being in control

People like to be in chargePeople like to feel like the causal agent of their own action (Deci & Ryan, 2000)People need to feel in control to be motivated (Deci & Ryan, 2000)Deciding immediately releases pressure. Living through the conflict is the hardest part (own insight)The need for control comes from a fear of the unknown and fear or failure (Bolier, 2010)Concerns can be secured by reserving a specific time or place for rumination (Bolier, 2010) + (Andrew)

Some things are outside of our influencePeople try to control more that they can influence (Bolier, 2010)The more people have, the more they fear of losing it (de Botton, 2012)Postponing a decision often allows a conflict to solve itself (Joop)

Doing what’s importantActivities that can be attended to at any time, tend to not be taking into account in planning (Sylvia)Unexpected urgent matters get priority (Elina)People with less fixed responsibilities get less understanding for resisting overwork and setting limits (de Boer, 2011)

Following through

Pursueing goalsDeadlines help people commit to a goal (Wina / Elina)People do not like to waste time (Marieke)People wit a mission to pursue, are more satisfied in life, no matter the circumstances (Bolier, 2010)Concrete goals can be more easily pursued than abstract goals (Elina)

Being efficientDeadlines help peope commit to a goal (Wina / Elina)People do not like to waste time (Marieke)People wit a mission to pursue, are more satisfied in life, no matter the circumstances (Bolier, 2010)Concrete goals can be more easily pursued than abstract goals (Elina)

OTHERS’ ORIENTED

Support of othersOther people notice more easily when you are stressed or tense (own insight)Sharing your worries releases internal pressure (Joop)People need to feel connected to other people (Deci & Ryan, 2000)Other people can notice signals before you do (Sylvia)Sympathy from others helps you cope with difficult situations (Wina / Andrew)

Restraints of othersFollowing through on commitments is the norm (Joop / Sylvia)People don’t want to hurt other people’s feelings (Sylvia / Wina)People fear being judged by others, but are dependent or judgements as well (Marieke)People most easily ventilate their emotions to the

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C1 IDEATION

Iteration processThe ideas have been generated iteratively, meaning that ideas have been discussed regularly and based on the feedback from that, new ideas have been generated. After two iterations the complete range of ideas have been clustered into three directions that were clearly distinguishable. For the one direction that has been chosen, more ideas have been generated, of wich one idea has been chosen, based on the criteria that have been set up during the entire iteration process.

Three directionsThe three design directions that have been distinguished describe the way the intervention confronts the user this their checking habits. There three directions are:1. Confront by responding to the usage2. Confront by stimulating to put the phone away3. Confront by blocking the phone signal

Here are several ideas that have been discussed during the ideation phase.

BLOOMVisualising the time between checking in on your phone

FLICKRA table lamp that flickers when a mobile phone is being used in its surroundings

5 min ago

slide to unlock

45 min ago

slide to unlock

Growing plant visualises the

time passed since checking

your phoneVisual on unlocking screen

Grow a blossoming

plant by not checking

your phone

WiFi-data

Data receiver

Light flickers when data used

ATTENTION SEEKERAn interative object that moves towards you when using your phone, and rolls away when not using it

DOT A space in the table that nudges people to put their phone away and not grab it constantly.

LEANA chair that allows you to place your phone away and only grab it by leaning back.

Rolls towards signal that is picked up

Demand your

attention

Interactive objects that move towards your phone when using it, and roll away from your phone when not using it.

Attention seekers

Stores all phones

More reluctant to take out

phone is stored safelyphone can be grabbed

lean back to grab phone

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GUARDIANAn installation in (semi)-public spaces, for people to put their phone away safely.

GUARDIAN ALTERNATIVES

Guardian BandInstall the app to set your alarm settings, for urgent / important messages. Receive a wristband to inform you when you have to check your phone in the Guardian.

Guardian ForwardClicking the phone in the locker will activate the forwarding mode. Callers will be forwarded to the venue / restaurant that hosts the Guardian to reach you in case of emergency.

Guardian SoloA personal wristband and app ( no need of the Guardian wall) that allows you to walk around without your phone, whilst knowing when important messages are received.

Guardian LocalizerA service at festivals, where you receive a wristband that allows to you locate your friends, and thereby replaces the need for a phone.

Place phone

Fingerprintidentification

Calls to be buzzedto wristband:

‘Home’

‘Boss’

Other callers:

Forward to voicemail

Option ‘press 1 for urgent messages’

PhoneGuard + WallStore your phone away whilst staying informed if there are any important messages.

Only by retrieving your phone from the wall, you can check your messages again.

Download PhoneGuard-app to set your

preferences

(which calls are urgent/important)

You get the PhoneGaurd-wristband in

return. This informs you when important

calls are received by giving a subtle buzz.

At any time, you can then decide to check

your phone in the PhoneGuard-wall.

App Wall Wristband

Buzz when urgent call

Set preferences

identification

click

At certain venues and locations, you can place your phone in the PhoneGuard-wall. The

wall is controlled through fingerprint recognition or a password. You connect your

phone in one of the lockers.

In the locker, the phone clicks into a device, that will turn the phone into the

‘forwarding-mode’. This mode informs all callers that you are unavailable, but gives the

option to press #1 for urgent calls.

When the caller presses #1, the call is forwarded to the venue-owner, such as the restaurant or museum reception. In this way, all guests can safely leave their phone without the fear of missing urgent calls.

LocalizerHand in your phones at festivals and get the Localizer in return,

to localize your friends at any time!

Hand in your phones at the Localizer-station

Get a Localizer wristband in return with GPS signal

Hand in your phones

Lost your friends?At Localizer-spots, you can

check the GPS-location of all the other wristbands in your group, to see where your friends are

hanging out

PhoneGuard Solo

Personal device to store your phone away when you do not want to be distracted, but still want to be available for certain calls.

App Wristband

Set PhoneGuard ON, which forwards all urgent messages to the Phoneguard wristband

A subtle buzz tells you an urgent call is received.

urgent messages give buzz

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SILENT SPACESA bench within an area where the phone signal is blocked.

FLIP CASEA case that allows you to flip between two covers: keeping you available or blocking the signal.

BUZZ’DAn app with which you can send anybody in the nearby area who is using his phone a quick ‘block’.

THE REJECTED TABLETable feels rejected when you’re texting and will try to fold itself up again.

Underground phone-signal jammer

Signal-free area

Variation:In the train silent-coupes

Variation: In a museum, there is only phone-access in the hallways

LittleBlockBoxPlace your phone in (bedside) box to sleep undisturbed, blocks

at incoming messages, works like a Faraday’s cage Silent box

Access to your phones only at specific times

TV sends signal to turn

Silent Box on/off

Silent Box works as

phone-signal jammer

movie

ON OFF ON OFF

moviebreakbreak

Flip-caseFlip the cover as you wish between ‘available’ to

‘not disturb’ modus

When undisturbed:Closes ‘Faraday’s cage’ > no phone

signal goes through

When available:Acts as a ‘normal’

phone coverSpecial fabric with thin metal wires

woven into it

Text-r-talkGet buzzed when texting whilst talking to a person

Text-r-walkGet buzzed when texting whilst walking

5 SEC

BLOCKED

register movement

buzzes phone

5 SEC BLOCKED

bla bla bla...

voice recognition

buzzes phone

5 SEC BLOCKED

send a buzz via

bluetooth to nearest phone

The rejected table

When checking your phone in a lecture hall, the phone signal is picked up by a small device on

your table.

The device will slowely try to fold the table up again, making it seem like the table feels rejected and unused.

Only by pushing the table down, you can keep on checking your phone and resist the table from folding

up.

Table feels rejected when you’re texting and will try to fold itself up again

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C2 CONCEPT GUIDELINES

Here is an elaborate explanation of the guidelines that have been developed during the ideation phase.

Fit to design visionThe design vision has been phrased as “I want to enable people to question the need to be constantly informed with their messages by making it feel absurd to check your phone”. The questioning of this need is therefore the core goal of the design intervention, and it should be achieved by making the behaviour feel absurd.

Interaction and product qualitiesThe interaction with the product should be characterized as subtle and confronting. It should not be too forced, but still strong enough to make people wonder whether they really need to be dependent on their phone. Also, the intervention should be supportive, and empower people to change their checking habits. The product should generate friction, which means it should be a bit uncomfortable but still being lovable to not loose interest of the user. For friction, the design should be naive, understanding and ironic (Hassenzahl, X). Naive means the design is cheatable, does not force and allow to be neglected. Understanding menas the design is not judgemental. In my project, ironic means the design should make people realize that checking their phone might make them even miss out more instead of less, as they are disassociated from their environment. Furthermore, the design should be characterized as kind, surprising and self-explanitory.

Personal vs environment driven approachMost of Trimbos’ interventions are based on a personal-driven approach, which they refer to as mental fitness, in which the user is already determined to change his behaviour. Their interventions, such as their Mentaal Vitaal online platform, support people in committing and following through on the goals they have already set for themselves. Nowadays Trimbos is expanding their portfolio with project that intervene in people’s environment, but this is still a relatively new approach for them.

Concepts such as the Bloom are similar to the personal approach and would fit the current portfolio of Trimbos better. However, this project aims to inspire Trimbos with how design can offer a new approach. Typical design intertentions have the added value of intervening directly in people’s daily lives, such as the Flickr concept. Such

interventions are enviroment-driven as they surprise and confront people with their behaviour in a certain setting. This is a significantly different approach than the intervention Trimbos is familiar with, such as campaigns that increase awareness or the mental fitness module that supports people in the goals they have already set for themselves. A typical design concept that is enviroment-driven will therefore be more inspiring to Trimbos and better express the added value of design.

Balance absurdness and realisticAlthought the design aims to be absurd, it needs to stay realistic to be effective. There needs to be a balance between the two, that can only be optimized in the detailing and testing of the concept. The aim is to make the phone use feel absurd to the user self. To keep it realistic, the feedback should be subtle so that the person can ignore it when desired.

Ownership and stand-aloneThe fact that the intervention needs to be confronting is another reason to go for the environment-driven approach, as this way there will be no awareness of the intervention beforehand. The owner of the product should therefore not be the person the intervention is aimed at, but rather the owner of an institution or (semi)-public space in which the intervention is placed. This could be a museum, university or restaurant. The intervention should be stand-alone, as this requires no installation and flexible usage.

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C3 CONCEPT CHOICE

Here is ann elaborate explanation of why the concept ‘attention seekers’ has been selected to continue with.

The attention seekerThe attention seeker is an interactive object integrated in existing tableware, which start to demand your attention when a phone is used in its surroundings. At first it seems like ordinary objects, thereby not distracting the people at the table. Only when a phone is used it absurdly starts to move around. It’s feedback is neutral as it doesn’t disapprove of the behaviour. It only demands the attention that is given to the phone. It might even take a while before the people realize it’s responding to the use of a phone. It’s a playful way of making the phone use seem absurd. It might be fun and intreging at first, but eventually so distracting that people at the table think twice before checking their phone again.

Fitting the guidelinesThis concept confronts, creates friction without force, makes checking your phone feel absurd and can be detailed into a realistic product that can be sold as a typical design object that carries a deeper message. It’s based on an environment-driven approach, can be bought by restaurant and cafes and is a stand-alone product.

Mimicing attentionThis concept is similar to the Flickr, which also responds to the phone’s usage by flickering the light. However, the added value of the Attention Seekers is that the user can more easily project his emotions on this product: it’s experienced as a more human-like object which leads it’s own life. People will therefore more easily develop a relation to the product, such as blaming it, accepting its playful response. The small size and independence (as it’s not physicallyconnected to the environment) allows people to feel control over it. Also, it does not need to be installed, but can more easily be placed anywhere and be relocated anytime.

AbsurdnessThe detailing of this concept is crucial for balancing the absurdity and realisticness. This will determine whether the interaction will be accepted or experienced as annoying.

move towards a phone signal, demanding

attention from user

Figure 1 - Impression of concept ‘Attention seeker’

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The initial storyboard has been developed at the start of the design detailing phase. It presents the initial idea of what the interaction and product should look like. Through several iterations of both design and technical detailing, it has been adjusted towards the final design intervention. The blue dots explain what further design and technical detailing was needed.

INITIAL STORYBOARDC4

A series of tableware products...

...with a small electronic device. silicone cap rubber ring to

click in product

antenna

(RF receiver)

print boardbattery

mechanics for movement

Click the device into one of the tableware.

cupbowl

plate

DESIGNCompatibility of device with

ordinary tableware

DESIGNEmbodiment

of device

TECHReceiving the signal

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When dining at a restaurant...

...the device responds to your phone’s RF-signals.

It seeks your attention by moving around.

domain of reach

incoming messages are

ignored by device

active use of texting or internet is picked up

TECHSetting the domain of

reach

TECHDiscriminate

incoming calls

TECHLocating the

signalDESIGNType of

movement

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DESIGN DETAILINGC5

For the design detailing, much attention is on enabling flexibility of usage and achieving the intended confronting effect, as these are believed to be crucial aspects in the feasability of the product.

Relation to existing productThe concept of making a product move can be executed in three different ways: (1) a product can be designed in which the mechanism is integrated, (2) a separate device can be designed that fits a (series of) matching product(s) that is designed go together, and (3) a stand alone device that can be connected to a range of existing products.

(1) Integrated in productThis option has been rejected almost immediately, as it does not allow any flexibility in usage. This will also decrease the confronting effect, as it will only be surprising the first time. Furthermore, it’s not practical in cleaning to have the electronic mechanism undetachable.

(2) Seperate device with matching productsThe advantage of designing a separate device with series of tableware is that the device fits the product perfectly, as such seeming to be just an ordinary product and thereby taking people completely by surprise. A series of minimal products, such as a cup, bowl and place, allow flexible uses for different situations.

(3) Single device to fit a range of productsDesigning a single device that can fit a wide range of existing products gives it most flexibility in usage. It allows play and experimentation, which create a richer interaction in which the user is more actively involved. However, the device needs to be designed in such a way that the device is either well hidden or does not give away its functionality.

Option 3 has the potential to be the best option as long as it manages to fit a wide range of products and stays confronting by either hiding the device well or designing it to be unnoticable. This option will be explored further.

Range of products to fitThe intended context of use focusses on social settings such as around the dinner table, in a meeting room and around the sofa. Ideally, the device can be attached to any products related to the previously listed contexts. Products to think of are bowls, cups, plates, vases, cutlery, napkins, pens, paper documents and magazines. There products differ in weight, shape and size. An optimal design of the device

would give different requirements depending on the product. A bowl, cup and plate are heavy, require good balance and a thin device that can be hidden underneath the product. For smaller products such as pens and paperwork the device will be attachted to a corner and therefore doesn’t need to provice any balance. This allows more options for the design of the movement mechanism. Inevitably the device will be visible on these products and therefore needs to be designed to be unnoticable.

Device + matching product

Stand alone device

Integrated in product

Figure 2 - Relation to existing product

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As can be seen in figure X, the bowl leaning over is quite disturbing and noticable. It’s therefore important the device is flat and can balance products, such as in #3. This shape still easily fits the other two products will enough. A small flat balanced device will therefore be continued with.

One concession that will already be made it the maximal weight of a product. The more weight it can care, the bigger the motor that is required. However, the heavier the weight that can be moved, the faster the device will accelerate for the light-weight products. The range of weight therefore cannot be to broad, as the acceleration needs to be quite constant. Also, one criteria is for the device to be easily hidden, as it needs to be as small as possible.

To make a device suitable for the widest variation in products, different shapes have been modelled with a thickness of 1,5 cm to test on three products. These three products represent the range of products it needs to fit. The bowl represents products that need to be balanced and lifted from the surface. The magazine represents products that don’t need to be balanced but still cover the device and the scissors represents products that are so small that the

#1

#2

#3

#1

#3

#2

Figure 3 - Testing the effect of product shape and size on different objects (bowl, magazine, scissors)

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Hidden functionalityConfronting people with the sudden movement of a product is a crucial aspect of the concept. It’s therefore necessary for the device to either be hardly visible or to make the design look like a black box, that doesn’t give away it’s function. Three variations of the product design have been made.

Sliding coasters

Twist ring to create vacuum

Vibrationsmake product wobble

around

Slowely & silently gliding

away

Functions as a coaster, thereby hiding it’s real goal

“Rupsband”: high grip to carry heavier weights

Remove back to replace battery

Cork

Anti-slip elastomer

Figure 4 - Design variations

Anti-slip materialNeutral colors to make

it unnoticable

USB - charger

3-point support

Place it under an existing

product

Slowely & silently gliding away

Little diskThis design aims to hide the device under a product. It’s minimal and neutral appearance makes the device almost unnoticable or even a bit mysterious once it is visible, thereby not revealing its functionality. Although this design meets the requirements, it doesn’t feel satisfying. It’s neutral appearance can be experienced as boring or serious, undermining the playfulness it’s supposed to evoke. Also, it comes across as a useless gadget that doesn’t really make a statement.

StickyThis design is the opposite of the little disk when it comes to the noticability. Instead of trying to hide the device, it gives it a prominent function. Still ,as it uses vibration to move around, it doesn’t give away any hints on its functionality. It can be sticked to any product, making it playful and fun. However, it still comes across as a bit of a gadget.

Sliding coasterThis design solves the feeling of designing a gadget. The device is integrated into a coaster, giving it a reason to be displayed on the table and thereby not reasing any questions of it’s functionality. It’s visibility is no longer an issue in this design. By integrating it into a coaster, people will automatically use it to place their glasses on. Still, any product can be attached to it. This allows people to still play around with it any way they like, such as placing it under a plate or a newspaper. The product works both by placing other objects onto it, but it also works stand-alone.

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Controlling the device To save battery, an on/off button is placed on the back of the device. For recharging batteries, the back can be twisted to unlock. To maintain simplicity, the device does not have any controls that allow the user to variate the movement, speed or the reach of the signal detection.

MaterializationThe appearance of the device will be minimalistic and clan. To make it look like an ordinary coaster, the device has a cork frame. The top is covered with a brightly coloured highly resistent material that is even a bit sticky on smooth surfaces such as plastic and ceramics. Siconi produces special anti-glide material that would be suitable for this.

Design of movement To generate the intended interaction of confronting the user with their phone use in a playful way, the design of the movement is crucial. There are numerous possibilities for the movement, although a few options can already be excluded due to the design of the device. For instance, the sliding coaster won’t be able to move vertically or wobble and can only move horizontally in one direction. If there hadn’t been

any restrictions, the device could also ride around, wobble, twist, tumble, bend over, spin and jump up and down.

Still, variations can be made in its horizontal movements, interval and speed. For instance, the device can more forward at a constant speed, or move back and forth irregularly and gain speed or stand still at certain moments.

up/down

wobble

straight linespeed

back & forthspin around

roll over

curved line

CHANGE PLACE VARIATIONSON THE SPOT

t

intervalt

t

Figure 5 - Movement variations (outlined = possible within current design)

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C6 DESIGN INSPIRATION

UNSTUCK APPSY, 2014 Unstuck is an in-the-moment digital coach that’s ready every time we’re feeling stuck. The app helps us see and solve situations with fresh perspective through provocative questions, targeted tips, and action-oriented tools.This app shows perfectly how there is a need for a more experiential intervention. This app is still too much like a (digital) therapy, which demands a lot of commitment from the user.

THE PRESENTSCOTT THRIFT, 2011What could you accomplish if you actually believed that time is on your side? Expand your vision of time forever with the world’s only 365 day clock. After setting itself to ThePresent, the hand completes one revolution every year. Introduce yourself to a more mindful approach to seeing and experiencing time.This design nicely illustrates how a product can have an effect on your perception of life,in this case your perception of time and hurry.

OSTRICH PILLOWKAWAMURA-GANJAVIAN, 2013 A cushion in which wearied office-workers can insert their heads and take a nap, simulating the experience of lying in one’s quiet, darkened bedroom without leaving one’s desks. This object is a nice example of an anti-anxiety object: an object that suppots people in relaxation.

Inspiring design related to high strivings

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Inspiring to the design vision or concept

DRIFT TABLEBILL GAVER, 2004The Drift Table is an electronic coffee table that displays slowly moving aerial photography controlled by the distribution of weight on its surface. It was designed to investigate our ideas about how technologies for the home could support ludic activities—that is, activities motivated by curiosity, exploration, and reflection rather than externally- defined tasks.This product illustrates how an engaging interaction that takes people by surprise, stimulates people to step out of their reality and rethink the ordinary.

REMINDMATTHIAS LASCHKE, 2013ReMind is a calendar and to-do-list-like object to help people overcome procrastination. The ring turns with a certain speed and allows people to place activities on the ring that need to be finished before they reach the top. If they haven’t done so, the activities fall of, reminding people to rethink their time management. It’s a nice example of how products affect people’s mindset and behaviour, in an unforced and positive way.

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LOOK UPGARY TURK, 2014 A spoken word film for an online generation. ‘Look up’ is a lesson taught to us through a love story, in a world where we continue to find ways to make it easier for us to connect with one another, but always results in us spending more time alone.

SOCIAL MEDIA GUARDCOCA-COLA, 2014 The Social Media Guard takes the “social” out of media and puts it back into your life.

About the paradox of being social when you’re disconnected from your social media

NOBODY LIKES MEANONYMOUS STREET ARTIST, 2014“Get a fucking life”. A clever commentary on society’s growing emotional need for social media validation.

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About phubbing

C

M

Y

CM

MY

CY

CMY

K

STOP PHUBBINGAnti-phubbing campaign, including posters for restaurant owners to place in their restaurant windows.stopphubbing.com

PHUBBINGAn image from GettyImages, showing the lack of face-to-face interaction when phubbing.

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For testing the interaction with the product a prototype has been made. The mechanism of a radio control car substitutes the device, over which a normal product has been placed to hide the device. Three prototype iterations have been made.

PROTOTYPE DEVELOPMENTD1

Gives a first impression of what the interaction would look and feel like. The surprising effect is clearly visible and the urgency for the user to respond to the intervention is nicely shown. This prototype is too rough and noisy to really test with.

Figure 6 - First prototype

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EThis prototype has a mini radiocontrolled car hidden underneath a small product, here being used as a pen holder. However, for the user testing this prototype is too heavy: it only works from small distance because the signal is not picked up as well any more. Also, the frequency used to control the car seems to get blocked by the blinded glass.

Figure 7 - Second prototype

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This prototype uses a similar mini radio controlled car as the previous prototype. The case is 3d-printed and therefore a whole lot lighter. This prototype can be controlled from about 7 mtrs of distance. The car has a different frequency that easily passes through the blinded glass.

Figure 8 - Third and final prototype

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D2

INTRODUCTIONMain goalThe aim of the user test is to get an impression of how well the design intervention manages to achieve its design vision: “to make people question their conviction of missing out”. To recap, the interaction that is intended was described as ‘subtly confronting’ and ‘empowering commitment’. The intended product qualities are surprising, understanding, naive, lighthearted and generating friction.

Research questionsThe main questions that need to be answered by the test are:1 - How do people respond to the movement of the device?2 - Do people recognize the movement responds to their mobile phone checking behaviour? If so, how do they respond?3 - How do people adapt their phone checking behaviour?4 - How do people prefer the device to respond to their phone usage?

MethodThe evaluative study will take place in a controlled setting and consist of qualitative research. Five existing project groups will be recruited around the faculty, consisting of about 4-6 team members. These groups will be asked to participate in a small study on group work. During the test they will be placed around at table on which the prototype is placed, and studied from behind blinded glass. The researcher can trigger them to use their mobile phones. and control the prototype from behind the glass. Their response will be recorded and afterwards an individual questionaire will be filled in and a group discussion will be held, to discuss more deeply their response to the device.

The study will allow for iterative learning and adjustments. Based on the results of the first group sessions, the following session will be adjusted accordingly.

PROCEDUREBefore the testingThe test will be executed in the controlled setting of a research studio with a blinded window, as this allows for controlling of the radio-controlled prototype without the participants noticing or knowing beforehand.

To make sure the interaction with the product is confronting, the participants shouldn’t know beforehand the test

is related to their phone checking behaviour. Therefore participants will be asked to participate in a short interview followed by a questionaire on a made-up topic.

During the testingWhen arriving, they will be seated at the table near the blinded window, and asked to wait for a little while, as they are told the questionaire that needs to be filled in has to quickly be reprinted due to a mistake. On the table are already a coffee and tea can, a bowl of cookies and a pencil holder. This last product is the prototype, but will not be noticed as such by the participant.

In this unformal setting, the participant will be waiting for quite a while and hopefully feel the urge to check his phone, as it’s taking so long. If this doesn’t happen by itself, the researcher who is watching from behind the blinded window will trigger the phone checking behaviour by setting up a friend to call or text the participant.

When a participant checks his phone, the researcher will control the prototype to move a little. As long as the participant uses his phone, the researcher will make the prototype move further. The only condition is that the device should not fall of the table.

For this user test there will not be made any discrimination between online or offline checking of the phone, as this cannot be easily recorded.

After the testingAfter the participant has been triggered to use his phone and has either responded or not responded to this, the researcher will return to the room and tell the participant the real goal of the research. If the participant has indeed checked his phone and experienced the interaction with the device, the researcher will ask the participant more about this interaction. Furthermore, with the participant the ideal character for the device to have (expressing the type of response) will be discussed.

QUESTIONAIRE & DISCUSSIONThe goal of the questionaire is to get people’s individual emotional responses, before it is discussed in the group. Also, they will be individually asked what they believe the device responded to. Their answers will be discussed within the group. Next, the second part of the questionaire, in which they will be informed about it’s relation to phone

EVALUATIVE STUDY - DETAILED SETUP

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PrEmo emotionsThe PrEmo measurement tool (Laurans & Desmet, 2012) allows participants to non-verbally communicate their emotional response. These emotional pictures have been used for the text. Here the corresponding verbal explanations are added, which have not been presented to the participants during the study. Participants could also indicate how strongly they felt this emotion, ranging from 1 - I do not feel this to 5 - I do feel this strongly.

DiscussionIn the discussion, these questions have been set up beforehand to structure the discussion.

How did you all feel at the start of the study, prior to the first movement?What were your first reactions when you noticed the device was moving?What did you think the device was responding to? Why?What was your reaction when you realized what the device was responding to?How do you feel about this device being present at your groups meeting table? Why?How do you think it could effect your phone-checking behaviour?

Character typesFinally, the participants will be shown a page with pictures, representing different characters the product can express. They will be asked to point out and explain which of these pictures described best to them the type of response they believe would be most interesting for the device to give.

usage, followed again by a group discussion.

The questionaire and prepared topics for discussion are presented here.

INDIVIDUAL QUESTIONAIRE PART 1

Name: _________________________

1. First reactionWhat was your first reaction when you noticed the device was moving?Please circle the emotion that corresponds best with your reaction, and circle how strongly you felt this emotion.

[ select PrEmo emotion + select strength]

2. Response to…What did you think the device was responding to?

____________________________________

INDIVIDUAL QUESTIONAIRE PART 1

Name: _________________________

3. Recognize responseYou might have realized the device responded to someone’s use of his/her mobile phone. If so, what was your reaction when you noticed this? Again, please circle the emotion that corresponds best with your reaction, and circle how strongly you felt this emotion.

[ select PrEmo emotion + select strength]

4. Effect on your phone usageImagine this device being present on the table during your group meetings. Could interaction with this device have any influence on your phone use? How would it be? Explain your thoughts.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Desire Satisfaction Pride Hope

Pleasant surprise Fascination Disgust Dissatisfaction

Shame Fear Sadness Boredom

Figure 9 - Set of PrEmo emotions (Laurans & Desmet, 2012).

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ANALYSISThe sessions will be recorded and a general description will be typed out, supported with a few explanatory screenshots. The most interesting parts of the discussion will be typed out. People’s responsed with the PrEmo-measuring tool as well as their preferred character types will be collected and presented together. The discussion and their emotional response validate whether and how the intended design goal and interaction can be achieved. The discussion of the character types will be interpreted by the researcher and translated into design decisions for the device’s appearance and movement.

Figure X shows an overview of the character images.

These are the corresponding verbal explanations, which have not been presented to the participants during the study.

A - Calm & relaxedB - Supportive C - CaringD - DisappointedE - Whining & demanding attentionF - Frustrated & annoyedG - Excitedly seeking attentionH - Sad & rejectedI - Angry & restrictiveJ - DisappointedK - Forceful & dominating

Figure 10 - Product character images

A B C

E F G

I

H

J K

D

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D3 EVALUATIVE STUDY - TEAM 1

TEAM 1 SESSIONThe group settled themselves around the table. Quite quickly, one of the participants picked up the pen holder out of interest, started examining it, noticed the on/off button on the bottom and clicked it back and forth a couple of times. Unfortunately he placed it back on the table leaving the device off, and therefore it was not possible to make the device respond any more. What could be noticed is that a lot of people in the group checked their phones quite often. The use of one person triggered the use of others, until at some point three out of the five participants were doing something on their phone. To still get some feedback from this group of participants, I focussed in the discussion on how they believe this device could affect their mobile-phone usage during their group meetings

DISCUSSION WITH TEAM 1Current phone usageNowadays phone usage is so common in people’s routines.. It might take a while for us to realize the link with phone usage.- I would probably have noticed more quickly, as I wasn’t on my phone myself.

The etiquettes of phone usage are still contantly evolving. We are the generation that need to figure out how to cope wit hit. We need to set the standard of what is and what isn’t appropriate. I think at this point, only a small part is definetley not accepted and a small part is completely accepted. The majority is in a big grey area.

Own prone usageI often check the time or whatsapp messages, I almost do it without thinking. But getting a tekst message doesn’t happen that often, than I’m more concious of my usage.- I check my phone more often that I’d want.- I notice that when people in the train are on their phone, I will do it myself more easily too.

When I have my phone in my pocket, I notice I dislike my own urge to take it out. I can often check up to five times in a short timespan, whilst every time there’s nothing to see.

When I’m bored I check more often, and I catch myself checking only two minutes ago.

You notice it’s socially no longer accepted to not check your phone for let’s say longer than eight hours. People expect you to communicate. So you have to. I don’t bother me by this expectations, but I do notice that if I haven’t got my phone with me for a longer period of time, I feel the urge to check everything and respond to everything to be done with it. The expectations are so high, you can’t not check you phone regularly, that’s the annoying thing. It’s super nice to not check your phone for a long time, but you always have to catch up afterwards.

I very often feel the urge to check my phone when I’m in a group.- Yes, me too, and it makes me feel bad. I tell myself not to do it any more. It feels like I’m wasting my time.- Slave of the technology.It’s an easy way out. It feels to me like more and more often moments where I could have done nothing but still quickly check. In the train, for instance.

Figure 11 - One of the participants picks up the device almost immediately and accidentally turns the power off.

Figure 12 - Although the participants are actively texting afterwards, the device cannot respond to it now.

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- On the other hand, you’d know when someone is getting a message.- (rest): But you wouldn’t want to know that!

I think I’d consider better before checking, if this device were on our table. I do think we will get used to it quite quickly, that you’d check less at first and than later you’d know what will happen.- I would actually use it more at the beginning, to play around wit hit. - I belief that it would help you to remind you of your usage.- But how quickly do you think we would decide to place the device somewhere else?

- I think it would build up a feeling of guild. If you have to work in a group and the device has been silent for over an hour because nobody has used their phones, I wouldn’t want to be the first one to check my phone again.

Type of responseIt would be cool is the device’s response builds up, like you can get a higher score the longer you haven’t moved!

I think it would work. In the beginning we would definitely play around wit hit, but when you have to do your job afterwards, you don’t want to break the peace.

For me, it doesn’t need to respond when we are individually working. But when we all have to be focussed during a meeting, that it would be relaxed if everyone kept their attention. You don’t want someone to look uninterested and be on his phone under the table. It thus depends a lot of the situation.

Maybe the consequence needs to be heavier. Like the phone-stack in restaurants. When I’m watching a movie with friends and someone is on his phone, that the movie would start flickering. It might work to raise some negative emotions and exaggerate it. - But that depends on the situation, because it wouldn’t work when we’re in a group working.- I believe the device should inform, without judging. No alarm bells. Just awareness.

In group situations you also tell each other to stop.- But you’ll never tell someone “what you’re doing is really inappropriate”.- It should feel like you know it’s better for the group, without pointing to someone as the guilty one.

- But when you’re together with another person and that person is not approachable… You really disconnect yourself from your social environment.

There’s a difference between checking out of boredom and checking out of routine, or when you want to look up a fact online. Because you can always check everything immediately. And when you fancy someone, you’re always constantly checking whether you’ve got a message back already.

Being called and picking up is acceptable, as long as you walk away. Because when you get called, it’s not like you choose for it yourself. When it’s your own initiative the rest knows it’s not an important conversation.

I get bothered with myself for constantly supporting my stories with photo’s, videos and facts from my phone. At some point it’s really annoying to communicate through that things. The charm of not having information at hand can be beautiful. The problem is that because you can support your stories and verify the facts, you will.

When things are happening around you whilst you’re trying to converse with your mobile, you really get yourself in a different world.

Other people’s phone usageI don’t find it so bothering when others do it, you get used to it. - In our project group, the checking is not so bad. Sometimes we have to say it to one another once.- I don’t mind someone checking one, but not if it happens constantly.

What I really find annoying, is when you try to have a normal conversation via whatsapp, and then you have to keep on texting and cannot just cut it off. Without a valid reason, like having to go exercising, you cannot stop the conversation.- It doesn’t make any sense, that you need to have an excuse. I’d rather let the conversation bleed to death.

Effect of usageI think the device would fall off our table if we had it during our group time. We would play around with it at first.

I think it would be annoying if it also responded to incoming messages. Sometimes I turn my phone on silent because I don’t want it to grab my attention.

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- Yes, it’s about awareness of your own behaviour, which the device should be supportive in and direct you.- I like the idea of the device accusing someone.

I miss an image for the product characters. One that just frustrates you in a nice way. Like poking you in the side of your body. I would like it to stay a playful object. Be a little bit of a pain in the ass.

It would be cool if it would really fall of the table, and you’d had to pick it up again. It makes you think like “argh, why does it do that again, now I really have to stop with my phone.

That game element is important. That it tolerates your behaviour to a certain point, and than at some point ‘explodes’ in a way. That at some point you think: “Now I really don’t dare to use my phone away longer, it’s about to burst. - So you can either rewards not using, or allow using to a cetain level but at some point give it a negative effect.- It musn’t get too negative, that you’ll put ita way at some point.

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D4

TEAM 2 SESSIONThe group settled around the table, and patiently waited. One of the participants already started using the phone. At first nobody responded, but with the second movement a few of them noticed the device moving. They started inspecting it. When one of the participants rolled the device quite roughly over the table, a wheel got stuck. The following moments when somebody picked up a phone, the device couldn’t move properly. Some of the participants still noticed the lights underneath. The researcher made a quick intervention by fixed the wheel. Although the group now knew the device was supposed to respond to something, they didn’t yet know to what. After this intervention they actively started experimenting and almost immediately thought it could be their phones. As they tried this out and the device responded, they started to experiment whether it would respond different to other phones and would move in a certain direction. As this device was still stuttering a bit in its movement due to its damage and irregularly didn’t respond to the signal, this researcher ended the session.

DISCUSSION WITH TEAM 2First responseWhen we noticed the device moving, we quickly thought back on what we had been doing that could trigger the movement. That’s when we realized it might respond to our phone usage.

The person using the phone is the last to notice the device moving.

Once we noticed the device moving, we got curious to know what it was really doing.

I was waiting for the device to move again.

Recognizing the responseI didn’t immediately think it was responding to something specifically.

When Paula used her phone and the device moved away from her, my first thought was that it would be more logical for the device to move towards her. As if to ask of her to take something out of it.

My first thought when I realized the device was responding to mobile phone usage, was: “not another product that makes me feel like its rude to be checking my phone.” – this participant follows the course ITD in which two groups have

EVALUATIVE STUDY - TEAM 2

Figure 13 -Two people texting. The other participants slowely start to realize the device is moving.

Figure 14 - Inspecting where the movement comes from.

Figure 15 - Realizing it responds to moblie-phone usage.

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A subtle response would work best for me. To just make you think ‘Ah, yes’.

I like the character of G. It’s like saying ‘Hee, attention here!”

For my project ITD, similar topic) we focussed on mimic emotions. When approaching it like that, I would combine the characters of A and F: being calm and relaxed when not using your phone and becoming frustrated whenyou are using your phone.

I wouldn’t mind a mild version of the character I. The rest: No, I definetely wouldn’t.

Character A, F or G would be interesting in my opinion.

I wouldn’t want the device to work on my nerves. Therefore I think character A or G would be the best for the device to have.

Character B also feels like a good one. It’s like a helping hand, supportive. I image it to be like a kind teacher in front of the classroom. Character C would be too intimate.

the same subject.

Interacting with the deviceWe wanted to know if the device would go as far as falling off the table.

Effect on phone usageI’d say it would make me more concious of about checking my phone, but I’m not sure if it would make me use my phone any less. Maybe I’d find it annoying that the device constantly moves back and forth. I might put the device away at some point, because people are constantly on their phone so it would drive us crazy.

I would take out my phone less often because now everybody will clearly know you’re checking your phone. I’d become more concious of my own behaviour.

If this device is on the table, I expect I’d not check my phone that often any more. But when would go back home I don’t think my behaviour will change. (no long term effect)

Feelings about own phone usageI recognize feeling the urge to constantly check my phone.

I can be bothered at times by myself, that I’m so dependent on checking my phone. But at the same time I know that if I do not have my phone with me, it won’t bother me. So if I do have the opportunity to check it, I easily will.

Feelings about other people’s phone usageFor me, I’m not often bothered by people checking their phone. It depends on the situation. When I’m talking to somebody, for instance when eating with a friend, it’s annoying when that person is constantly checking his or her phone.

Product character Most participants felt the character of G would be the most interesting and effective, as this subtly demands attention. A, B and F were also discussed as being suitable characters. Character I was almost unanomousy disliked by the participants as this would make the interaction too forced.

I’d think the focus of the device should be to make me more concious of my own phone usage. Therefore I don’t like character I, this would only make me annoyed.

AB

F

G

Figure 16 - Preferred product character

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D5 EVALUATIVE STUDY - TEAM 3

TEAM 3 SESSIONAs the team settled at the table, two of the group members left to go the bathroom. Immediately the two remaining members, a boy and a girl, took their phone and started using it. Their first response was doubt; they later explained they didn’t want the other person to think they were hallucinating. As they kept on texting the device responded more noticeably. The girl exclaimed ‘whow!’, they quietly glanced at one another, and she said ‘I saw something move! Seriously’ They checked under the table, but didn’t dare to touch it. When she started texting again quite soon, the device drove to the corner of the table. The guy tried to stop from falling, whilst they both curiously waited for the device to move again. For quite a while the girl was texting on her phone whilst the device kept moving back and forth.The other two group members returned to the room and laughed when they noticed the device moving. The first two members explained the device had suddenly started moving. The guy took out his phone again and kept on texting for quite a while, whilst the device kept moving back and forth. The participants noticed the movement but did not respond to it. A little while later, when nobody had been checking their phone, a text message had been send to the girl. She checked it and, with several intervals, started to write a message back. Every time she got involved in her phone, the device responded, but this relation was not noticed by anyone. At some point the guy, later joint by one of the girls, were continuously involved with their phones. The device kept moving back and forth on the table, but still no relation to his usage was noticed. One of the girls still reacted in surprise and giggly exclaimed it looked scary. As nothing remarkable happened from this point on, I entered the room to start the discussion.

DISCUSSION WITH TEAM 3People’s re sponse to the device

I first thought something paranormal was going on. - I thought it might respond to the loudness of our conversation.- I thought the device was just a fun thing in the room, not related to the test.- I wasn’t sure if the other people noticed as well, so I was reluctant to say it out loud.

I now realize we were quite often on our phone during the session.

Figure 17 - Two participants immediately start texting. They notice the device moving but feel reluctant to share it, as they doubt whether or not they’ve seen it correctly.

Figure 18 - As one of the participants uses her phone a while later, one of the girls starts laughing nervously and exclaimes “it looks so scary!”.

Figure 19 -They discuss what the device could respond to and start to experiment with movement and taking the pens out.

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notice it more and more.

I can also be bothered when people have placed their phone on the table and it’s constantly bleeping. Than I really want them to put their phone or silent, or just pick it up already, as apparently something it going on.

With calling, I feel like that’s permitted.- Yes, because then you have a one-on-one conversation.- It’s also because when you call, you want away. When you text, you stay where you are.

I always think everything (the messages) I get are very important, but they never are. - But people start to send more and more important things through whatsapp. Previously people would call for that, but now they already expect you to check your messages instantly.

Influence on behaviourIf the movement keeps on going for a long time, it would definitely remind me that I’m being on my phone too long.

Normally people do not really notice if I send a message on my phone. This movement targets everyone’s attention to your behaviour. That would make a huge difference. You cannot subtly send a message any more. Than I’d rather not send a message at all.

I can image that after a while people are triggered to not use their phone for a while. Just to see how long you can commit to that.

That’s what it is, it’s really making you aware of your behaviour.

Situations for usageIn our group we have not experienced phone usage as distracting. For other groups I believe it really is.

In a pub it’s also very rude towards the others when you’re checking your phone.

Product character Most participants preferred D and G. They described that a truly disappointed device that responded over the top would work best on them.

I’d find this sincere disappointment (character D) very

I actually thought it was really funny when I first noticed it moving.

We were reluctant to pick up the device, we wanted to wait and see what else the device would start doing.

We did not expect this at all. I was really surprised.

I felt a bit at uneasy. I did not know the meaning of it. I’m sure it would really distract us during a meeting.

Recognizing the movement[upon reading in the questionaire the device responds to phone usage ] “Hm, I really had not expected that.”

If I knew it responded to my phone, I think I would evoke the movement on purpose.

I would at some point find it really annoying if the device kept moving around on the table. I would at first experiment a bit with it, but at some point I would not at all use my phone any more.

I would be really curious to know the technology behind this device, therefore I would on purpose try to see what the device responds to and what not. It would be supercool. It brings some liveliness on the table.

People’s current phone useI really notice, and I find it very annoying of myself, that often I really have to check my phone. I don’t want to, but for some reason I just have to check and then I always have whatsapp messages and want to respond. I find it super annoying, I actually want to get rid of it.

Yes, especially when you’re doing something fun with one other person. Then every moment the other person is checking his phone, you’re the one waiting. That’s really annoying.

Sometimes I notice everyone at a dinner table doing something with their phones. Than I think to myself, why don’t you just sit at home. Instead of being ‘gezellig’ together they’re all in on own. Sometimes I make a comment on it, but more as a joke.

In the train I often feel like I want to start a counter movement. To compensate everyone who’s on their phone. I

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- It would be useful if we can program inside the device what kind of usages we allow. - Maybe it should get a maximum. So it’s constantly moving faster when someone’s on his phone. - It would be fun to experiment what the device would see and what it wouldn’t see.- I wondered if the device would fall of the table at some point. We sat still at some point to check if that was going oke.

I could imagine playing the device underneath my phone, so it would roll away once I use it too much.

interesting. I’d want something positive.

I like character G, it’s like ‘pick me! pick me!”. I don’t know if I would want it, but it would work probably. Of course you want nobody to check their phone, except yourself. Although, actually I don’t want to be doing it myself, but still I am constantly doing it.

For me it would work if it isn’t a subtle and tender response. I need excessive over the top response. Like (sighing): “ooooh, yeahh. why again...”

I first thought of character I. Sometimes you just need a correcting remark, telling you not to do it again. But of course you always hear you should rewards good behaviour instead of punish. When you punish it might work the first few times, but after that it would start to oppose me.

I liked this character E, a bit disappointed, like “Oh no, not again.” Because it takes your attention away from what you’re doing at that moment.

I like a bit weird gadgets. I’d like to try it out in my group. I’d think it would be hilarious the first day. - I wonder how it would affect our behaviour of the long term.- It could become part of our group. If this were a mascotte that we have on our table every day, like we name Bert, something personal, and he’s constantly moving around….

Figure 20 - Preferred product character

E

GD

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D6 EVALUATIVE STUDY - TEAM 4

TEAM 4 SESSIONWhen the group entered the room and were very conscious about the fact that they might already be observed at this moment. They patiently waited for a while and calmly conversed and flipping through the magazines. Whilst some of the team members were getting actively involved in a conversation, one of the other guys had been texted and checked his phone. When the device started moving a bit, they immediately interrupted their conversation, pointed and said ‘whow!’. It went quiet for a moment, most of them gasped and then one guy started laughing loudly and checked under the table. “What was that?” Then all of a sudden all of them started laughing heavily and one girl exclaimed: “That was scary!”. After a long laugh they picked up the device and all the other items on the table to check it out. The guy checking his phone even said to the group: “I was just checking my phone and all of a sudden I hear all of you!.” No one wondered at this point what the device was responding to. They even started questioning whether the sudden movement would be part of the research or whether something bizarre was going on. It then took quite a while for somebody to check his or her phone again. They started experimenting what could make the device move, by talking to it, drawing on the blank papers that had been placed on the table and taking a pen. Then one of the girls started texting for a full minute, whilst the device was moving back and forth in front of her. Although the participants pointed out the device was now “heavily asking for attention”, the movement of the device still wasn’t related to this behaviour.

DISCUSSION WITH TEAM 4First responseI was really shocked when I noticed it move.- I thought it was hilarious. - I was busy on my mobile until I noticed the rest being startled all of a sudden. - We tried to discover where this movement came from. We looked under the table for magnets. - I thought the movement might have been nudging us to do something, such as taking a pen and drawing on the paper.

Recognizing the responseI thought it might respond to someone coming closer.- I didn’t even notice somebody using his phone. At one time the device was constantly moving back and forth. Was someone really on his phone that whole time? - Yes, I was, hahaha. But apparently that isn’t noticed easily.

Figure 21 -“Wow!” The conversation stops immediately when the device starts moving for the firs time.

Figure 22 - After a moment of silence they all start laughing loudly. One of the participants explains she was in quite a shock.

Figure 23 -After a while they have settled down again. Although one of the participants is constantly on her phone and the device keeps moving back and forth, nobody realizes the relation between the two.

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It seemed to me like the movement was just random and didn’t respond to anything.

Effect on phone useIf it would be constantly moving back and forth when someone checks his or her phone, I would find it quite annoying.- It would definitely arouse a feeling of shame. - It’s super confronting. - f you’re just working and the device starts moving, we’d all know: ‘Oh, someone is checking his phone again!” (laughter).

We wouldn’t take out our phone that easily and more.- It would easily distract the whole group, when suddenly something starts moving.

It would feel like a person is telling you (with threatening and accusing voice): “someone is using his phone again….”.

Nowadays all usage of a phone, except calling, is really bad for you. - It would make me think: “ok, ok, I’ll put it away already.” - I think it would only work best in the beginning, when it’s something new. I can image that at some point you get used to it, or maybe it might start to annoy you more and more.

Necessity of interventionIn our group this wouldn’t be really necessary, but in other groups it probably would be. - When we’re just all sitting together but working separately, I don’t mind someone using his phone. - I usually already put my phone away, otherwise I know I would be constantly checking the latest messages.

Feelings about other people’s phone usageDuring dinner at home I find people’s usage often very annoying.- Sometimes I’d just want to search for something on my phone, and than I wouldn’t want the device to constantly move. - If it doesn’t take too long, I don’t mind a person checking his phone.

Feelings about own phone usageI often swipe open my phone but don’t even do anything. It’s just to check my time or something. Sometimes I feel like I shouldn’t be doing that.

When I’m walking home from the university, I catch myself

being non-stop involved with my phone, for instance to check the train schedule. It’s often dangerous and I don’t notice anything at all during the walk. I something find that ridiculous of myself.

Product character Character G hse been picked by the group as the most suitable and effective characters. Also it has been pointed out the response should be calm and still allow phone usage. They believed just a movement would be enough, as any other response (e.g. light and sound) would bother them.

Not E, that would bother me. It makes me think of an annoying sound. I don’t think the device should give any sound. Movement would be oke, but sound or light would bother not only myself but also the people around me.- It needs to be calm as well. No flashy lights or noise.

Character G appeals to me, it asks you ‘Hey, pay attention.” - Same for me. It still allows you to use your phone whereas some of the others make it too annoying.

It should’t be a strong or negative response. That would make me be bother by the device rather than by my own phone usage.

A

G

Figure 24 - Preferred product character

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D7 EVALUATIVE STUDY - TEAM 5

TEAM 5 SESSION

This team got a design challenge to complete during the test. After reading the assignment one participant took out his phone to set a timer. The device moved towards him. He picked it up and noticed it was a 3D printed device, but nobody yet said anything about the movement. Only when the device moved a bit more as he continued setting his times, someone exclaimed, “It’s rolling! It’s rolling!”. They all took a look at it and rolled it over the table. “What is it?” someone asked. “No idea, but I want it” was someone’s response. They then continued their brainstorm as if nothing had happened. One person commented that he believed the test might be about that moving device, but nobody responded. A couple of minutes later someone starts texting again for half a minute. The device keeps moving back and forth, distracting a few of the other participants, whilst the rest keeps on discussing. A minute later, when another participant starts texting, everyone ignores it. Another minute later, when the same participant checks her phone, two participants start throwing their pen at it.Next a participant uses her phone for a longer period of time. As the participants get distracted by it again, and one of them screams ‘God almighty!’, picks it up and pretends he wants to throw it away. Someone proposes it might be there to keep the process more creative, and make people a little bit crazy. After that, one of the participants is texting for a full minute, and the device keeps moving back and forth the entire time. Everybody ignores it. When the alarm goes off after ten minutes and the device starts moving as the person has taken out his phone, still nobody seems to notice the relation to people’s phone usage.At they discuss the final ideas and two person take out their phones after one another, they belief the device might be rolling towards the better ideas or the one talking.

DISCUSSION WITH TEAM 5Nowadays usageUsually it’s not so important, but people do check their phones often.

Now it wasn’t so annoying for anybody to check, but when there’s an important meeting, I do find it annoying.

Usage during waiting is not a problem; it makes the waiting more pleasant. Now people are in their own cocoon with their phones at train stations, in the past they were the

same with newspapers.

During big press conferences people are told to turn their phones off, but still often people don’t do it.

I often feel the urge to respond to things, because this is expected of me. It’s not so relaxed to have that.

There aren’t clear boundaries of what usage is acceptable and what isn’t. It gives a lot of restlessness. The vague boundaries are something you need to define for yourself. - Don’t you always wonder what’s really important? For instance, when I’m in a bar with a friend I haven’t seen in ages and I get a text from my girlfriend, I will text her back in that moment. But if I think about it, that’s quite stupid. You’ll see her the next day again.- Yes, and what you’re really doing is saying the other person “you’re not important enough”.

Own usageI think it’s funny. If you imagine how often on a day we check our phone. I might be staring more than half an hour to my phone on a day without anything happening.

I find my own checking super annoying. I can’t even delete my facebook from my phone, I noticed recently.

Sometimes when I’m not doing anything and I pick up my phone, I can get annoyed with that.

Usually I have my phone on silent, but today I expect an urgent call, so I put it on.

Other people’s usageWhat I also find annoying is when people feel the urge to constantly show me things on their phone.

Recognize responseDid somebody use his or her phone actually? - Uh yes. (total of 10 times)

Maybe you can design something that shows it can move, but you don’t yet know to what. - But for formal use, such as a business meeting, it can be a thing that is just something that people know will monitor their usage, as this is more efficient. It can even look like a real phone-alert device.

Effect of this device

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I wouldn’t want the device to move towards me when I’ve got my phone on silent and it drives towards me.

I’d go for character B. To help you towards good behaviour.

I’d go for A. Me too.It’s chill. Calm. Zen. Especially because it the action itself gives unrest. This is like a reminder to take it easy.

It depends on it’s design, but I’d probably go for I. But it has to be in a fun way.

For me, character I and G wouldn’t work. Sometimes it’s just important to be able to pick up your phone. You cant to be able to make your own choice whether it’s good or not.

Who’s that device to say my behaviour isn’t good? Punishing wouldn’t work.

I think I would put the device away from the table.

My mother would be in shock if it started to move.

In a chique restaurant I would find it weird for something to move. But in a more hip casual place I would find it a lot of fun. I might provoke it, as a game to do together.

I would find it useful during work meetings.- I would find it more useful during social moments, like a dinner.

I think over time it would become more serious. You can’t just secretively check your phone.

The good things about this is, is that you don’t have to hand in your phone. People get angry when they have to do that. The phone has become the most used product people have with them and constantly think about. People get bonded with it and wouldn’t want to give it away is a locker or something. This is more accessible.- But I wouldn’t know if I like it as a vase. I wouldn’t expect it.- Yeah, it must be something that already looks like it can move. Or you need to know what it responds to. Otherwise you will scare the hell out of people.

If I would be checking my phone secretively and then this device comes along, I would think more about it.

I think I would become more conscious of my own use, and whether the use is appropriate. Right now I feel like I’m sometimes being a bit rude in my usage. This device would remind me when I forget about that for a moment.

I think people’s behaviour is hard to change. That won’t just happen. The frequency of confronting people is very important. If I’d want to change my own phone behaviour, I need to have something that frequency reminds me that my use is not normal.

Product character It can also become a bit childish. Sometimes you just want to check your phone.- I think it shouldn’t point at one person. That would make it too confronting and childish.

Maybe there should be a rewarding system, to stimulate good use.

A

I

B

Figure 25 - Preferred product character

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D8

Research question 1 - How do people respond to the movement of the device?

In the questionnaire the participants individually reported their emotional response to the sudden movement of the device, with use of the PrEmo measurement tool. Most participants circled just one emotion, although a number of participants circled two. Figure X shows an overview of the emotions that have been recorded. The emotional response of most people was been fascination and pleasant surprise. This can also be seen and heard in their reaction that has been recorded on the video. “Wow!” has been a common reaction, followed by a moment of silence and then laughter. A few participants explained they felt a bit of fear and shock when the device started to move. The strength of their experienced emotion has been reported most frequently as being scale 3 (19 responses) with a few exceptions of scale 4 (3 response), scale 2 (3 responses) and scale 1 (2 responses). This demonstrates that the response has been experienced quite strongly.

Research question 2 - Do people recognize the movement responds to their mobile phone checking behaviour?

Some groups believed the device responded to some type of behaviour, whilst other groups did not at all think about the device responding to something in particular. The groups who believed the device responded to something specific tried to discover what it was responding to. They explored the effect of noise, proximity, movement, throwing in pencils and taking a candy. The group who had been given the task of sketching ideas even believed the device was stimulating them to sketch and eventually moved towards the best idea. Only one group realized the device responded to their phone use, but some of its group members turned out to be doing a project related to phone usage themselves and could therefore be biased.

The participants could also report with PrEmo their emotional response when they realized the device was responding to people’s phone use. As most participants did not notice this during the testing, they recorded their response towards being informed by this in the questionnaire. Their responses have been quite diverse. Notable are fascination (6 responses), satisfaction and pride (both 4 responses) and shame (2 responses). The strength of these emotions has been a little lower than the strength of the emotion recorded to the first movement. Still most people circled scale 3 (10 responses), but all others circled either scale 2 (4 response) or scale 1 (5 responses).

EVALUATIVE STUDY - PREMO RESULTS OF RQ 1 & 2

Figure 26 - Overview of participants’ first responses, with PrEmo measurement tool

Desire Satisfaction Pride Hope

Pleasant surprise Fascination Disgust Dissatisfaction

Shame Fear Sadness Boredom

FIRST REACTION TO SUDDEN MOVEMENT

3

8

1

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4

Desire Satisfaction Pride Hope

Pleasant surprise Fascination Disgust Dissatisfaction

Shame Fear Sadness Boredom

REACTION WHEN REALIZING IT RESPONDS TO PHONE USAGE

4 4

6

2

1

1

1

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Figure 27 - Overview of participant’s response when realizing the relation to phone usage, with PrEmo measurement tool

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D9

Quite surprisingly, almost nobody realized the device responded to people’s phone usage. Apparently people’s phone usage is perceived as being so common nowadays, that people hardly even notice it. During the discussion, some participants were even surprised that their team members had been using their phones; they couldn’t recall this. What needs to be determined first, is whether the test setting, the imitated situation and the device’s ability to locate the signal could be of any influence to the results.

Effect of test setting The fact that people’s responses have been recorded in a test setting could be of influence to the results. Some of the participants explained they didn’t think to much about the movement, as they just passively waited for the researcher to return and explain it to them. In the group that was asked to fulfil a design assignment, some participants explained during the discussion that they believed the movement must have been related to the assignment. They therefore believed the movement was to stimulate pen usage or that the device kept picking the person with the best design ideas.

Effect of situationDuring these first tests, participants were asked to wait (which might be a more accepted situation for checking your phone) and were sitting around a coffee table (in which they were leaned back and could easily check discretely). To verify whether this setting affected their ability to notice the relation to phone usage, the setting had been changed for the last group. This group had been placed around a meeting table (in which their phone usage would be more visible) and given a creative task to solve within a certain time (making the phone usage more likely to be bothering). Although in this test the phone use has been highly visible and frequent, still none of the participants noticed the relation. During the group discussions participants explained that during the testing they weren’t bothered by people using their phone, but they could think of other situations in which they were easily bothered, such as dinners and important meetings. The extend to which phone usage is undesired in certain situations could therefore be of influence to people’s ability to recognize the relation.

Effect of locating usageIt could be suggested that making the device move towards the location of phone usage could increase the chances of participants noticing the relation. This too has also been tried out in the last test, but seems to make little difference.

The participants did believe the device might have responded to a specific behaviour of people, being talking, but it could be said that actually the opposite had been more true.

EVALUATIVE STUDY - ADDITIONAL DISCUSSION OF RQ 2