From Anger to Relief: Five Ideal Types of Users Experiencing an Affective Intervention in HCI

Negative emotions, like distress, frustration or anger have been shown to impair the human-computer interaction (HCI). Previous research indicates that computers can reduce some of these negative emotional states in users by applying affective interventions. Until now, studies mainly measured the effectiveness of such interventions, but it is still poorly understood why these are effective and how users experience them. In the present study, in reaction to a critical dialogue situation of HCI, an affective intervention was given to deliberately frustrated users. Based on user interviews and by applying methods of qualitative research, users’ meaning making processes regarding the affective intervention were explored and categories of experience were worked out. On the basis of these, five ideal types relating to how users experienced and conceptualized the affective intervention were constructed. The typology clarifies that users’ appreciation of the intervention varied greatly between enthusiastic approval and definite rejection. This indicates that a ‘one type fits all’ solution is not appropriate for affective interventions. Keywords—intervention; user experience; qualitative research; ideal types; affective computing.