Development and Validation of Four Social Scales for the UX Evaluation of Interactive Products

AbstractThe social dimension of interactive products covers all aspects of our relationships with others that are impacted by owning and using such products. Although social features are making their way into a growing number of interactive products, there is a lack of an evaluation tool to capture the social dimension of the user experience (UX). This study addressed this shortcoming by developing and validating new social scales based on the UEQ + framework. We developed four social scales to encompass various aspects within the social dimension. For scale development, 229 participants rated their UX with products having social aspects. Exploratory factor analysis allowed us to identify four sub-dimensions (Identification, Social interaction, Social stimulation, and Social acceptance), each evaluated with four items. For scale validation, 450 participants evaluated the UX of three product categories, using the new social scales, AttrakDiff, and the six UX dimensions of UEQ+. Results of MANOVA showed that the social scales discriminated the three categories (F (8, 560) = 20.68, p < 0.001, Pillai’s trace = 0.456). The four social scales developed in this study can be combined with other UX dimensions of the UEQ + modular framework to provide a comprehensive overview of user interaction with products.Keywords: User experienceUXUX evaluationsocial scaleUEQ+ Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Notes1 For the sake of brevity, hereafter, we only use product(s) instead of product(s), service(s), and system(s).2 In questionnaires, red-herring or attention check questions are used to detect participants who do not read carefully or answer randomly.Additional informationFundingThis research was funded by NSERC (Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada) Individual Research Grant awarded to Dr. Jean-Marc Robert [#RGPIN-2018-06733].Notes on contributorsEhsan MortazaviEhsan Mortazavi is a PhD candidate in the Department of Mathematics and Industrial Engineering at Polytechnique Montreal. His research focuses on UX subjective evaluation tools, UX dimensions, and cognitive ergonomics.Philippe Doyon-PoulinPhilippe Doyon-Poulin is an assistant professor in the Department of Mathematics and Industrial Engineering at Polytechnique Montreal. His research focuses on human factors in aviation, error prevention and decision-making with automated systems. He authored more than 25 aircraft certification reports to show compliance on flight deck usability and pilot error.Daniel ImbeauDaniel Imbeau is a Full professor in the Department of Mathematics and Industrial Engineering at Polytechnique Montreal. His research focuses primarily on occupational ergonomics, continuous improvement, and human-centered engineering design to improve worker health & safety at work, and productivity.Jean-Marc RobertJean-Marc Robert is an Adjunct professor in the Department of Mathematics and Industrial Engineering at Polytechnique Montreal. He retired in 2020. He taught and conducted research in the fields of Cognitive Ergonomics, Prospective Ergonomics, User Experience, and Human-Computer Interaction.