A framework for the experience of meaning in human-computer interaction

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingArticle in proceedingsResearchpeer-review

The view of quality in human-computer interaction continuously develops, having in past decades included consistency, transparency, usability, and positive emotions. Recently, meaning is receiving increased interest in the user experience literature and in industry, referring to the end, purpose or significance of interaction with computers. However, the notion of meaning remains elusive and a bewildering number of senses are in use. We present a framework of meaning in interaction, based on a synthesis of psychological meaning research. The framework outlines five distinct senses of the experience of meaning: connectedness, purpose, coherence, resonance, and significance. We illustrate the usefulness of the framework by analyzing a selection of recent papers at the CHI conference and by raising a series of open research questions about the interplay of meaning, user experience, reflection, and well-being.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationCHI 2019 - Proceedings of the 2019 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
Number of pages15
PublisherAssociation for Computing Machinery
Publication date2019
Article number225
ISBN (Electronic)9781450359702
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2019
Event2019 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI 2019 - Glasgow, United Kingdom
Duration: 4 May 20199 May 2019

Conference

Conference2019 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI 2019
LandUnited Kingdom
ByGlasgow
Periode04/05/201909/05/2019
SponsorACM SIGCHI

    Research areas

  • Meaning, Meaning-making, Meaningful interaction, Meaningfulness, User experience

ID: 223455702