User Interfaces and Self-Esteem
A psychological view on user-system-interaction
The Bloomberg Terminal and Self-Psychology
An article at UX Magazine from 2010 deals with the — then unmastered — challenge of redesigning the Bloomberg Terminal. One central argument that is brought forward regarding the reason why the interface would not be redesigned any time soon, is that “users take pride and find highly rewarding to handle a painful interface“, with the reward consisting in „feeling and looking like a hard-core professional”.
Norman’s thoughts regarding the “reflective level” of design come to mind [PDF]. But of course, he is not the first to describe how objects and activities that are relevant to us affect our (psychological) selves. Take, e.g., this description of “selfobjects”, a concept brought forward by Heinz Kohut:
"Selfobjects are external objects that function as part of the 'self machinery.' In other words, they are persons, objects or activities that 'complete' the self, and which are necessary for normal functioning. Observing the patient’s selfobject connections is a fundamental part of self-psychology. For instance, a person’s particular habits, choice of education and work, taste in life partners, may fill a selfobject-function for that particular individual."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self_psychology#Selfobject While interacting with the Bloomberg Terminal may not be “necessary for normal functioning” (who knows?), changing that interaction by simplifying it may nonetheless affect self-esteem in a negative way.
Self-Esteem Regulation Through User-System-Interaction — Some Thoughts
Perspectives like the one described in the UX Magazine article serve as reminder that there is more to “user experience optimizations” that initially meets the eye. Efficiency of a user interface in getting one’s work done is only one aspect of user experience. Efficiency in regulating one’s self-esteem may be another.
Whether interaction with a system is relevant to self-esteem regulation and in what way depends, amongst other things, upon users’ personalities and the context in which the interaction takes place.
- In cases in which users are likely to define themselves by the work they are doing (see the remark on selfobjects above), and the user interface allows them to get their work done in the end, the counter-intuitive effect of the Bloomberg Terminal may be observed: the — complex — way of reaching the desired goal is a value in itself for users — whether the user interface accurately reflects the complexities of work or whether it is unnecessary complex.
- In other cases, users are more likely to define themselves by the goals that can be reached by using the interface and not by the way of getting there. Therefore, getting the task done efficiently is more important to ones self-esteem than showcasing the complexities of arriving at the goal. This is probably often the case for consumer applications (or: “status symbols”).
Remark: Games could be a notable exception here, because with them “the way is the goal”. Hence the slogan: “Easy to learn, hard to master”. - And then, certain interactions may not affect self-esteem in a significant way. Rather brief interactions that are more or less routine, e.g. setting an electronic alarm clock, are probably not very relevant to users’ perceptions of their selves and their overall goals. Again: as long as the interaction can be completed successfully.
One could also imagine that with time, a user progresses from stage 1 to stage 3 as he grows more familiar with a system.
In any case, if the goal of an interaction cannot be reached, self-esteem might be affected negatively in all of the three prototypical cases listed above.
Another factor influencing whether an interaction is relevant for self-esteem, is the existence of observers while it takes place. In case observers are present, especially peers, even small and otherwise insignificant interactions may become relevant for self-esteem. Who wants to have interaction problems while their peers are looking over their shoulders?
Knowing about the conditions that affect the relevance of a user interface, or the interaction with it, respectively, for self-esteem will help in gathering a more complete picture of users needs and motives and ultimately finding out how the user experience relates to users’ selves. The ideas sketched above may serve as a basis for additional and more detailed thoughts.
Originally published in my blog at http://www.uxthoughts.net/user-interfaces-and-self-esteem/
