User Experience, Software Interfaces, and The Unconscious

TL;DR

This paper explores how unconscious processes influence human-computer interaction, emphasizing their autonomous role, impact on learning, and proposing methods to study and improve user experience by integrating unconscious participation.

Contribution

It introduces new approaches to studying unconscious participation in user experience, including brain activity and submodality interfaces, highlighting their importance for interface design.

Findings

Unconscious participation affects learning efficiency and behavior.

Current usability methods like eye-tracking can be enhanced by considering unconscious factors.

Ignoring unconscious processes may lead to loss of human evolutionary advantages.

Abstract

Ideas about how to increase the unconscious participation in interaction between 'a human' and 'a computer' are developed in this paper. Evidence of impact of the unconscious functioning is presented. The unconscious is characterised as being a responsive, contextual, and autonomous participant of human-computer interaction. The unconscious participation occurs independently of one's cognitive and educational levels and, if ignored, leads to learning inefficiencies and compulsive behaviours, illustrations of which are provided. Three practical approaches to a study of subjective user experience are outlined as follows: (a) tracing operant conditioning effects of software, (b) registering signs of brain activity psychological or information processing meaning of which is well-explored and (c) exploring submodality interfaces. Implications for improvement of current usability study methods, such as eye-tracking, are generally considered. Conclusions consider advantages and disadvantages of unconscious-embracing design and remind about a loss of human evolutionary choices if unconscious participation is ignored, complicated or blocked in interaction with computer interfaces and built environment.