Hidden power of affective products and environments.

BACKGROUND: Designs that evoke fun and surprise have been successful in driving uncommon positive behavior. Affective design (AD) is based on the premise that products and services can elicit strong affective responses that can be harnessed for specific purposes such as increasing consumption. OBJECTIVE: This paper aims to discuss the theoretical foundations and applications of AD to address contemporary consumption, recycling, and healthcare issues. METHODS: Current applications of AD to address environmental and health issues were analyzed in terms of effectiveness in changing user behavior. Relevant concepts were used to provide future research directions in this field. RESULTS: Early applications of AD focused on designing products to increase customer satisfaction and stimulate consumption. The method, however, is auspicious in solving relevant societal and global problems. To pave the way for successful integration of AD, one research direction is the need to identify the right emotion to elicit in a certain context. There is a dearth of literature to promote sustainable consumption, such as using less energy, minimizing carbon footprint, or just taking care of the environment using AD. CONCLUSION: The integration of AD is a strategy that can be used to prompt behavior beneficial to society and the environment. Literature on AD suggests that a deliberate effort to manipulate design factors can work to elicit strong affective responses.

Effect of color properties in multiple time series graph comprehension.

Multiple time series graphs are used prevalently in representing business and research data, but the use of color properties to visualize them to enhance comprehension is limited. This study explored the effect of hue and lightness in representing 4-time series data in relation to response time (RT) and accuracy. Two types of palettes were developed for each experiment: monochrome and multi-hue. The three sets of monochrome palettes created were red, green, and blue, while four equidistant hues in the color wheel were used in the multi-hue palette: red, blue, green, and purple. A total of forty people participated in the two experiments. Participants performed two tasks for both experiments: maximum and discrimination tasks. The monochrome experiment showed the primacy of green in terms of RT and accuracy in the discrimination task. RT and accuracy were significantly affected by lightness in the multi-hue experiment. For both tasks, RT was longer for 20% lightness and lowest at 60% lightness. Accuracy results were also consistent with RT. In the discrimination task, participants made more errors in 20% lightness and the highest accuracy for 60% and 80%.

Factors Associated With Work-Life Balance and Productivity Before and During Work From Home.

OBJECTIVES: Considering the prevailing work from home (WFH) arrangement globally due to COVID-19, this paper aims to compare job-related and psychosocial factors before and during WFH setup; and to determine the relationship of these factors to work-life balance (WLB) and productivity. METHODS: A total 503 employees from 46 institutions answered the online questionnaire, 318 of whom met the inclusion criteria. Paired t test and structural equation modeling (SEM) with multigroup analysis were used for the statistical analyses. RESULTS: Psychological detachment (PD), sleep, stress, social support (SS), WLB, and productivity declined during WFH. SEM showed that PD significantly influenced stress and sleep, subsequently affecting productivity. SS significantly helped the participants maintain WLB. CONCLUSION: The key to increasing productivity and WLB during WFH is to foster PD and SS among employees.

Barriers and facilitators of productivity while working from home during pandemic.

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to characterize the working environment, stress levels, and psychological detachment of employees working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines and investigate their relationship to productivity and musculoskeletal symptoms. METHODS: Structural equation modeling was used to examine the direct effect of workstation characteristics, stress, and musculoskeletal symptoms to productivity and the indirect effect of psychological detachment to productivity. Data were gathered from a survey of employees working from home during the pandemic from different industries (n = 352). Multigroup analysis was also conducted to determine the effect of age, having a spouse, and having children less than 18 years old, to the model. RESULTS: Ergonomic suitability of the workstation (WES) has a significant effect on musculoskeletal symptoms (MSS) (ß = -0.31, SE = 0.06; p < .001). Both workstation suitability (ß = -0.24, SE = 0.03; p < .001) and workstation ergonomic suitability (ß = -0.18, SE = 0.01; p < .01) inversely affect STR. Psychological detachment has a significant inverse effect on stress (ß = -0.31, SE = 0.07; p < .001) and stress has a significant negative effect on productivity (ß = -0.13, SE = 0.09; p = .03). Multigroup analyses showed that stress significantly affected the productivity of those without spouses and young employees. CONCLUSION: Workstation suitability helps improve the productivity of people working from home while stress negatively affects it. Workstation ergonomic suitability and musculoskeletal symptoms have no significant effect.

Using analytic network process for evaluating mobile text entry methods.

This paper highlights a preference evaluation methodology for text entry methods in a touch keyboard smartphone using analytic network process (ANP). Evaluation of text entry methods in literature mainly considers speed and accuracy. This study presents an alternative means for selecting text entry method that considers user preference. A case study was carried out with a group of experts who were asked to develop a selection decision model of five text entry methods. The decision problem is flexible enough to reflect interdependencies of decision elements that are necessary in describing real-life conditions. Results showed that QWERTY method is more preferred than other text entry methods while arrangement of keys is the most preferred criterion in characterizing a sound method. Sensitivity analysis using simulation of normally distributed random numbers under fairly large perturbation reported the foregoing results reliable enough to reflect robust judgment. The main contribution of this paper is the introduction of a multi-criteria decision approach in the preference evaluation of text entry methods.

Product design enhancement using apparent usability and affective quality.

In this study, apparent usability and affective quality were integrated in a design framework called the Usability Perception and Emotion Enhancement Model (UPEEM). The UPEEM was validated using structural equation modeling (SEM). The methodology consists of four phases namely product selection, attribute identification, design alternative generation, and design alternative evaluation. The first stage involved the selection of a product that highly involves the consumer. In the attribute identification stage, design elements of the product were identified. The possible values of these elements were also determined for use in the experimentation process. Design of experiments was used to identify how the attributes will be varied in the design alternative stage and which of the attributes significantly contribute to affective quality, apparent usability, and desirability in the design evaluation stage. Results suggest that product attributes related to form are relevant in eliciting intense affect and perception of usability in mobile phones especially those directly related to functionality and aesthetics. This study considered only four product attributes among so many due to the constraints of the research design employed. Attributes related to aesthetic perception of a product enhance apparent usability such as those related to dimensional ratios.

The marketing implications of affective product design.

Emotions are compelling human experiences and product designers can take advantage of this by conceptualizing emotion-engendering products that sell well in the market. This study hypothesized that product attributes influence users' emotions and that the relationship is moderated by the adherence of these product attributes to purchase criteria. It was further hypothesized that the emotional experience of the user influences purchase intention. A laboratory study was conducted to validate the hypotheses using mobile phones as test products. Sixty-two participants were asked to assess eight phones from a display of 10 phones and indicate their emotional experiences after assessment. Results suggest that some product attributes can cause intense emotional experience. The attributes relate to the phone's dimensions and the relationship between these dimensions. The study validated the notion of integrating affect in designing products that convey users' personalities.