Effects of Culturally Adapted Interfaces on Learning and Attitudes: Findings from the Homenettoo Project

In the HomeNetToo project we designed user interfaces adapted to culturally influenced cognitive style and examined whether information presentations with adapted interfaces resulted in better learning and more favorable attitudes toward the information source and the interface. Participants were 161 low-income African Americans who resided in urban areas in the mid-western United States. Findings indicated that culturally adapted interfaces resulted in more favorable attitudes than the typical "magazine-style" (control) interface. Learning was enhanced when interface adaptation matched the users' cognitive style. Sp ecifically, a 3-D spatial interface was more effective with visual/spatial learners, and an interpersonal interface was more effective with interpersonal learners. Implications for the design of technology to improve learning are discussed. the context of the paper.