Comparing Thermographic, EEG, and Subjective Measures of Affective Experience During Simulated Product Interactions

There is a need for design researchers to move beyond the limitations of subjective interpretations of ‘design and emotion’ and explore the use of new tools and multi-modal methods in the objective measurement of human experience. Love (2004) identifies epistemological contradictions in design theory and proposes that a research programme based on a developing understanding of physiological processes in human cognition, action, and intent is required to further underpin research in this field. Furthermore, the ‘State of the Art’ report from the ENGAGE Consortium (2005) identifies a need for more “robust” and “statistical” methods to underpin the understanding of userproduct interaction which “will require theoretical deepening and instruments that enable capture of the richness and dynamics of product experiences.” Currently, subjective self-report methods are a commonly used tool in design research and a number of techniques have been developed to quantify and qualify user-product interactions across the broad field of Industrial Design (See the tools and methods section of the knowledge base at www.designandemotion. org for a comprehensive list). Many of these tools have been developed specifically to assist designers in the development and evaluation of ‘emotional’ design. Several utilise visual methods of communication and recording, avoiding some of the issues inherent in the conventional ‘questionnaire’ format and providing more appealing data for designers. However, their main limitations in the exploration of user-product interaction are that they do not provide objective measurements and they cannot capture the realtime dynamics of the experience. Their accuracy has often been questioned because these tools are subjective; the results being dependent upon each individual subject’s (1) perception of the experience and its context and (2) ability to interpret and express their feelings. There are two further challenges for design researchers exploring emotions in user-product interactions. First, the multiplicity of products and differing scenarios of use generate a complex variety of interactions eliciting complex and highly