Agents, affectivity and aesthetics in user-interface design

Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) research has suggested that there has been a general shift away from more traditional aspects of design, such as usability, and the focus is now more pleasure, or emotion, based. Jordan (2000) states that pleasurebased design is associated with more hedonic aspects, such as enjoyment, and the interaction between the user and the product. A number of studies have investigated the relationship between the user and product in relation to agents (e.g. DeAngeli, Lynch & Johnson, 2002). While it has been widely acknowledged that the use of agents enhances the user experience (e.g. Lester, Converse, Stone, Kahler & Barlow, 1997; DeAngeli et al, 2002), these agents have mainly been fully animated, which may influence perceptions as they are considered more ‘human-like’ . Conversely, other studies (e.g. Koda & Maes, 1996) have found that the appearance of an agent has little influence on user perceptions of attributes such as intelligence, but only if an interaction has taken place. A series of experiments were conducted in order to investigate user perceptions of agents, or more specifically the influence of aesthetics, context and interaction. Experimental work investigated rating of agents, on a variety of different attributes, in an implied financial context. It was found that there was a general positive regard for female agents, but it was unclear whether stereotypes relating to the context were driving these judgements. Additional work showed that this positive view of female agents was consistent when no context was implied. Further investigation of the role of context indicated that while context (compared to imagined context and no context) had an overall detrimental influence on perceptions of agents, there was a high general regard for both attractive agents and female agents. However, to ensure that this result did not simply arise from the choice of website (financial), additional studies investigated the extent of occupational stereotypes and whether these occupational stereotypes extended to agents. This was found to be the case. However, although the most appropriate agent for a given occupation was one that was gender-congruent with the occupation, there was still a general positive regard for attractive agents. Finally, the influence of interaction was explored, and it was found that the aesthetics, or even presence, of an agent had no effect on user perceptions. This suggests that the quality of interaction may be the most salient aspect of agent perception. These findings are discussed in relation to the literature and future studies are considered. Chapter 1: Beyond Usability Pleasure and Emotion in Design Chapter 1 : Beyond Usability Pleasure and Emotion in Design 1.0. Aims of the thesis One of the most salient factors when judging other people is attractiveness. Many studies investigating attractiveness have found that the “what is beautiful is good” stereotype to be a common phenomenon. HCI literature suggests that similar patterns are emerging with regard to interface design, with the focus shifting away from traditional usability aspects and towards the aesthetic and pleasurable/emotional aspects of design. The use of agents in HCI has been received both positively and negatively, with many of the inconsistencies among studies being attributed to the type of agent being used and the task being carried out. However, very few studies have reported differences in perceptions of agents based upon their physical appearance. Therefore, this thesis will investigate the influence of aesthetics on perceptions of agents. Possible underlying influences such as context, occupational stereotypes, and interaction will be investigated.