Jeeyun Oh

User Experience of On-Screen Interaction Techniques: An Experimental Investigation of Clicking, Sliding, Zooming, Hovering, Dragging, and Flipping

From scrolling and clicking to dragging, flipping, sliding, hovering, and zooming, the wide array of interaction techniques has vastly expanded the range of user actions on an interface. Each of these interaction techniques affords a distinct action. But do these techniques differ in their ability to engage users and contribute to their user experience? Furthermore, do they affect how users view the content and how much they learn from it? We address these questions via two between-subjects laboratory experiments. Study 1 (N = 128) investigated the relative effects of six on-screen interaction techniques (click-to-download, drag, mouseover, slide, zoom, and 3D carousel) on users assessment of—as well as their engagement with—an informational website. The site for each condition was identical in content and design, except for the interaction technique used, so that we could isolate the effects of each technique on various cognitive, attitudinal and behavioral outcomes. Study 2 (N = 127) examined the relative effects of four combinations of interaction techniques (slide+click, slide+mouseover, drag+mouseover, and drag+zoom) on the same dependent variables. Data from Study 1 suggest that although the 3D carousel generates more user action, the slide is better at aiding memory. The zoom-in/out tool was the least favored, whereas the mouseover feature fostered greater engagement among power users. Findings from Study 2, which was conducted with a different content domain, replicated the positive effects of slide and negative effects of drag in influencing user experience. Path analyses, using structural equation modeling, revealed the importance of users assessment of the interface (perceived levels of natural mapping, intuitiveness, and ease of use), which can have significant consequences for user engagement as well as resulting attitudes and behavioral outcomes. Design insights, theories, and techniques to test and capture user experience are discussed.

Theoretical Importance of Contingency in Human-Computer Interaction: Effects of Message Interactivity on User Engagement

A critical determinant of message interactivity is the presence of contingency, that is, the messages we receive are contingent upon the messages we send, leading to a threaded loop of interdependent messages. While this “conversational ideal” is easily achieved in face-to-face and computer-mediated communications (CMC), imbuing contingency in human-computer interaction (HCI) is a challenge. We propose two interface features—interaction history and synchronous chat—for increasing perceptions of contingency, and therefore user engagement. We test it with a five-condition, between-participants experiment (N = 110) on a movie search site. Data suggest that interaction history can indeed heighten perceptions of contingency and dialogue, but is perceived as less interactive than chatting. However, the chat function does not appreciably increase perceived contingency or user engagement, both of which are shown to mediate the effects of message interactivity on attitudes toward the site. Theoretical implications for interactivity research and practical implications for interaction design are discussed.

Interactivity as self-expression: a field experiment with customization and blogging

A paradigmatic quality of interactive interfaces is that they allow users to express themselves, thereby converting message receivers into communication sources. We define this quality as Source Interactivity [26, 29], and test its effects on user experience with a field experiment (N=141) of a portal site featuring cosmetic customization, functional customization and blogging (active versus filter). In demonstrating the psychological influence of source-based interactivity on such outcomes as user engagement, sense of agency, sense of community, intrinsic motivation and attitudes toward the interface, we discuss how designers can use them for creating interactive tools for self-expression.

Clicking, Assessing, Immersing, and Sharing An Empirical Model of User Engagement with Interactive Media

This article explicates the concept of user engagement by synthesizing a disparate body of scholarship, and suggests a measurement and a structural model for empirically capturing the meaning and process of user engagement, specifically in the context of interactive media. A second-order confirmatory factor analysis of data from two experiments (N = 263) shows that four attributes—physical interaction, interface assessment, absorption, and digital outreach—together constitute a valid and reliable operationalization of the concept of user engagement. A structural equation model reveals that greater amount of physical interaction with the interface and a more positive assessment of the interface predict cognitive absorption with the content, which in turn is associated with greater behavioral intention to manage and socially distribute the content. In addition, predictive validity tests show that the four subscales are predictors of attitudinal and learning outcomes.

Beyond pointing and clicking: how do newer interaction modalities affect user engagement?

Modern interfaces offer users a wider range of interaction modalities beyond pointing and clicking, such as dragging, sliding, zooming, and flipping through images. But, do they offer any distinct psychological advantages? We address this question with an experiment (N = 128) testing the relative contributions made by six interaction modalities (zoom-inout, drag, slide, mouse-over, cover-flow and click-to-download) to user engagement with identical content. Data suggest that slide is better at aiding memory than the other modalities, whereas cover-flow and mouse-over generate more user actions. Mouse-over, click-to-download, and zoom-inout tend to foster more favorable attitudes among power users, whereas cover-flow and slide generate more positive attitudes among non-power users. Design implications are discussed.

Modality is the message: interactivity effects on perception and engagement

New media interfaces offer a wide variety of modalities for interacting with systems. While typing and clicking remain the staple of most interfaces, several other modalities have emerged in recent years, enabling users to perform a range of other actions, such as dragging, sliding, zooming-in/out, mousing-over and flipping through a revolving carousel of images (as in cover flow). While each modality offers a unique way of interacting with information, it is not clear whether it brings unique psychological advantages. Does a drag engender greater user engagement? Is the mouse-over likely to enhance users perceptual bandwidth? A scientific assessment of such effects is impossible with existing interfaces given the confounded nature of modality combinations and information provided by them. Therefore, we designed six Web interface prototypes with identical content, differing only in modality, for experimentally isolating the effects of each, using a between-subjects design. Ongoing data collection involves both physiological and psychological measures of perceptual bandwidth and engagement.

User Engagement with Interactive Media: A Communication Perspective

This chapter builds on previous work that positions user engagement on the user involvement continuum and suggests that user engagement is comprised of physical interactions with media, cognitive involvement, absorption in media content, and behavioral outcomes in the form of outreach or media participation. The authors explore medium or interface characteristics and individual differences in the form of “power users” as determinants of user engagement, and persuasion as an outcome. An empirical example is user to illustrate the relationship between physical interactions, cognitive engagement, imagery engagement, and user attitudes and behavioral intentions. The chapter acknowledges and seeks to remedy the challenge associated with integrating conceptual frameworks of user engagement into design principles.

Page flipping vs. clicking: The impact of naturally mapped interaction technique on user learning and attitudes

Newer interaction techniques enable users to explore interfaces in a more natural and intuitive way. However, we do not yet have a scientific understanding of their contribution to user experience and theoretical mechanisms underlying the impact. This study examines how a naturally mapped interface, page-flipping interface, can influence user learning and attitudes. An online experiment with two conditions (page flipping vs. clicking) tests the impact of this naturally mapped interaction technique on user learning and attitudes. The result shows that the page-flipping feature creates more positive evaluations of the website in terms of usability and engagement, as well as greater behavioral intention towards the website by evoking greater perception of natural mapping and greater feeling of presence. In terms of learning outcomes, however, participants who flip through the online magazine show less recall and recognition memory, unless they perceive page flipping as more natural and intuitive to interact with. Participants perceive the same content as more credible when they flip through the content, but only if they appreciate the coolness of the medium. Theoretical and practical implications will be discussed.

The More Control, the Better?

Despite of the popularity of interactive movie trailers, rigorous research on one of the most apparent features of these interfaces – the level of user control – has been scarce. This study explored the effects of user control on users’ immersion and enjoyment of the movie trailers, moderated by the content type. We conducted a 2 (high user control versus low user control) × 2 (drama film trailer versus documentary film trailer) mixed-design factorial experiment. The results showed that the level of user control over movie trailer interfaces decreased users’ immersion when the trailer had an element of traditional story structure, such as a drama film trailer. Participants in the high user control condition answered that they were less fascinated with, absorbed in, focused on, mentally involved with, and emotionally affected by the movie trailer than participants in the low user control condition only with the drama movie trailer. The negative effects of user control on the level of immersion for the dram...

Calls for interaction: the more the better? user experience of 3D carousel and additional interaction techniques

We perform a user study to investigate the psychological consequences of adding interaction techniques to the interface. In a betweensubjects experiment (N = 143), we explore how (i) variations in sheer number of interaction techniques and (ii) addition of a novel technique, i.e., 3D carousel, influence the volume of users actions, their memory, perceptions of interactivity, as well as their attitudes and behaviors toward a website. Power usage is examined as a potential moderator. First-cut findings from self-reports and log data indicate that the 3D carousel feature has a strong impact on user experience, both positive and negative. It also moderates the curvilinear effect of adding traditional interaction techniques to the interface.