Lindsay Reynolds

Reviewing reflection: on the use of reflection in interactive system design

Designers have demonstrated an increased interest in designing for reflection. However, that work currently occurs under a variety of diverse auspices. To help organize and investigate this literature, this paper present a review of research on systems designed to support reflection. Key findings include that most work in this area does not actually define the concept of reflection. We also find that most evaluations do not focus on reflection per se rather but on some other outcome arguably linked to reflection. Our review also describes the relationship between reflection and persuasion evidenced implicitly by both rhetorical motivations for and implementation details of system design. After discussing the significance of our findings, we conclude with a series of recommendations for improving research on and design for reflection.

Awkward encounters of an "other" kind: collective self-presentation and face threat on facebook

While we tend to think of self-presentation as a process executed by the self, reputation management on social network sites, like Facebook, is increasingly viewed as a collective endeavor. The information users share about one another can have significant impacts on impression formation, and at times this other-generated content may be face threatening, or challenging to ones desired self-presentation. However, we know little about the nature of these other-generated face threats and the ways that people perceive them. Using an online survey of 150 Facebook users, we report on what these users consider to be other-generated face threats and how they feel after experiencing them. Results suggest that many face threats result from other Facebook users neglecting or misunderstanding a targets audience and/or self-presentation goals, as well as a targets fear of creating an unwanted association with another Facebook user. Experience of these threats is affected by both individual and situational factors. We also report on a new unique measure capturing Facebook skills.

Contact stratification and deception: blackberry messenger versus SMS use among students

The proliferation of communication technology has led to potential stratification of contacts across different media, which has important implications for interpersonal dynamics, such as deception. The present study examines how two text-based communication media, BBM and SMS, involve different kinds of social contact networks, and how these differences lead to changes in the frequency and nature of lies. The results reveal that BBM social contacts are relationally closer and include more friends but fewer family and acquaintances than SMS. More deception was also observed in BBM, which included more lies about managing social interactions. The results have important implications for the impact of design features, such as PIN exchange, in text messaging.

Real-Time Representation Versus Response Elicitation in Biosensor Data

Recognized stress management techniques include cultivating mindfulness, breathing exercises, and meditation. While these approaches have been shown to mitigate the negative effects of stress, they can be difficult to learn or consistently apply. To support these techniques, we developed MoodLight, a playful system that uses ambient colored light to provide feedback regarding an individuals current arousal levels. Like many affective computing systems, MoodLight was designed to help users observe their internal state and learn to relax. However, our findings indicate that prompting or leading feedback can be more effective than real time feedback in helping users relax. This work contributes to affective computing by suggesting alternative approaches to designing biofeedback systems for stress management.

Understanding unavailability in a world of constant connection

telephone or IM, which provided mediated co-presence when one was in the vicinity of a landline phone or PC, today’s mobile devices provide constant co-presence. Instant messaging is often combined with text messaging or proprietary messaging clients (e.g., BlackBerry Messenger, Apple’s iMessage, etc.), such that today’s teens send hundreds of messages per day to stay in touch with family and friends [3]. People are assumed to be constantly co-present, and thus, constantly available for conversation. This is taking a toll. There is evidence that all of these opportunities for interaction cause overload and stress. A recent Pew report suggests that nearly a third of respondents periodically turn off their phones just to take a break from all of the interaction opportunities they provide [4]. Sherri Turkle’s recent book suggests we are paying more attention to our devices than to each other [5]. Others report feeling disco-presence (i.e., being on the phone at the same time) could offer a similar experience. And one could inquire about another’s availability for mediated co-presence by calling in a more modern sense; namely, by dialing the phone and waiting for a response on the other end [1]. Instant messaging (IM) and chat systems, which became very popular in the late 1990s and early 2000s, changed this process again [2]. With these systems, one had a list of contacts who were co-present at any given time. Co-presence, for many users of these systems, suggested availability for conversation and was often reason enough to start one. The contact list made co-presence even easier to coordinate. More recently, there has been a larger socio-technical shift that we believe has significant consequences for how people coordinate around communication. In contrast to Historically, the problem of coordinating opportunities for real-time communication has been dominated by the problem of co-presence. Before there was any interactive media, people had to be in the same place to talk. Visiting somebody’s house (“calling,” in the early sense) to see if they were available or scheduling a time to meet were both good ways of coordinating. Early media such as the telephone changed this process a bit, in that people no longer needed to be physically co-present to talk. Mediated Understanding Unavailability in a World of Constant Connection

Does it know I'm not maintaining good posture?: an in-home play study of wii fit

Persuasive technologies designed to improve the health and fitness of users are becoming increasingly popular. One example is Nintendos Wii Fit, which has achieved commercial success. Despite this success, many people ultimately abandon this technology. Past work explored reasons for leaving, but retroactively. This study examines the reactions of first-time users of Wii Fit, through a one-time interview pilot study as well as an in-depth, month-long study in which participants used Wii Fit in their homes. We briefly present themes from the pilot study, as well as case studies from two month-long study participants, which shows how opinions and behaviors changed over time.

Comparing awareness and distraction between desktop and peripheral-vision displays

We tested a peripheral-vision display to provide users with awareness of others and their level of interest in interaction in an experiment where participants had to be aware of a simulated workgroup during a visually-demanding primary task. Participants gathered more information from the peripheral-vision display although they attended to it significantly less often (less than half the number of glances, and less than a third of the total time spent looking). Our results suggest that the peripheral-vision space around the user is a valuable resource for awareness and communication systems.

Visiting the 'lie-brary' exploring data engagement as participant incentive

As peoples online behavior increasingly leaves traces behind, it is tempting for researchers to gather and analyze these traces. This raises both ethical and logistical challenges in gathering and storing data; and in motivating people to share their data. We report on our experience developing an Android OS app to gather text messages and information about deception, and a web visualization interface that allows participants to engage with their data. We discuss our experiences and challenges, and solicit feedback and design ideas.