Douglas P. Mahar

The nature of intuitive use of products: an experimental approach

Abstract The term ‘intuitive use’ has been widely used with respect to various products and systems but has not yet been adequately defined. Through an extensive literature review, it was concluded that intuition is a cognitive process that utilises knowledge gained through prior experience. Intuitive use of products involves utilising knowledge gained through other products or experience(s). Therefore, products that people use intuitively should be those with features they have encountered before. A set of experiments with a digital camera was conducted to test the thesis. The results of these experiments support the thesis. It was found that prior knowledge of features or functions of the camera allowed participants to use those features intuitively, whereas unfamiliar features or functions had to be figured out, which was more time consuming and effortful.