EAGER: Designing Reflective Opportunities in Human-Computer Interaction

Virginia Polytechnic Institute And State University, Blacksburg VA

Investigators

Abstract

Many people presently interact more with and through computers than they do with other people directly but such interaction may have negative effects that go unobserved. These balance of positive and negative effects could be considered more thoughtfully if the design of the technology created opportunities for reflection, e.g., by creating "seams" in interaction that make the balance between the machine's influence and the human push-back more obvious, or by allowing people to nudge one another and themselves in particular directions. The goal of this project is to create at least one proof-of-concept implementation and demonstration of such a reflective design that will provide a paradigm or model for similar development and serve as a basis for future research. The pilot project has four parts: development of a task and example reflective opportunity, technology and experimental development, conduct of an experiment and analysis. The project is important because of the enormous role that computer systems play in the interstices of everyday existence, because the influences that computer systems have are not necessarily well-understood by users, creators or analysts and because of the potential for novel and more beneficial approaches to design that bring these influences to greater awareness. If the project succeeds in demonstrating the value of a reflective design approach, it may influence the ways people in society conceptualize computation, increasing their awareness of the need to cultivate a pro-active stance as users and designers and so provide a new paradigm for human-computer interaction research and development.