Max Fern – Affective responses to system messages in human–computer-interaction: Effects of modality and message type (09/16)

In Affective responses to system messages in human-computer-interaction: Effects of modality and message type, professors Pfister, Wollstädter, and Peter argue that affective responses vary based on the type of message and that spoken messages tend to elicit more positive responses than written ones.

Because humans communicate through a wide variety of modalities, this multi-modal experiment focused on the transmission of common messages, including what kinds of messages users actually prefer when engaging with technology. By distinguishing between the physiological and emotional effects, the professors were able to study the impact of specific messaging in HCI and determine the relative usability of certain modalities.

This is another study that appears to be rather meta-level, but breaking down the specific results of messaging in HCI has the potential to help designers produce messages that are both informative and engaging without being annoying. I wonder how they plan to build this research into the principles that guide modern technology design, but it’s a step in the right direction toward increasing the seamlessness of messaging from computers to humans. 

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