what can social psychology teach us about (better) ux research?

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What can social psychology teach us

about (better) UX research?

Jessica Cameron, PhD


Session Survey: http://www.uxpa2016.org/sessionsurvey?sessionid=88Conference Survey: http://www.uxpa2016.org/survey prisonexp.org



Social psychology is the scientific study of how people's thoughts,

feelings, and behaviours are influenced by the actual, imagined,

or implied presence of others


Session Survey: http://www.uxpa2016.org/sessionsurvey?sessionid=88Conference Survey: http://www.uxpa2016.org/survey (Iyengar & Lepper, 2000)



“HELP SAVE THE ENVIRONMENT. You can show your respect for nature and help save the environment by reusing your towels during your stay.”

“JOIN YOUR FELLOW GUESTS IN HELPING TO SAVE THE ENVIRONMENT. Almost 75% of guests who are asked to participate in our new resource savings program do help by using their towels more than once. You can join your fellow guests in this program to help save the environment by reusing your towels during your stay.”

(Goldstein, Cialdini & Griskivecius, 2008)

26%



Social proof Scarcity

Reciprocity

Social proofScarcity



How can social psychology help us craft more effective

user testing sessions?



Social psychology research requires:

1. Neutral environments2. Scripted interactions3. Clear hypotheses4. Random assignment to condition


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The environmentNeutral yet comfortable


Session Survey: http://www.uxpa2016.org/sessionsurvey?sessionid=88Conference Survey: http://www.uxpa2016.org/survey stanforddaily.com, confirmit.com



The interactionEvery word matters


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1. Please continue.2. The experiment requires you to continue.3. It is absolutely essential that you continue.4. You have no other choice but to continue.



The hypothesisCool effects are not enough



The participantsRepresentative versus random



duke.edu


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1. Does your test lab make all of your participants comfortable?

2. What purpose is your banter serving?3. What purpose is your research serving?4. Do your participants really represent your

users?



How can social psychology help us understand what

users have to say?



How reliable are participants’ comments?a – not veryb – not at allc – it dependsd – all of the above



There is a mismatch between what people say and what they

do



bhs.co.uk



“When asked directly about a possible effect of the position of the article, virtually all subjects denied it, usually with a worried glance at the interviewer suggesting that they felt either that they had misunderstood the question or were dealing with a madman.”

(Nisbett & Wilson, 1977)



How can you get more value out of what participants say?

1. Reduce participants’ biases2. Reduce your own biases



Ask questions that minimise bias1. Framing effect2. Anchoring and adjustment3. Dunning-Kruger effect4. Fundamental attribution error



Framing effectHow you ask the question matters



1. How easy did you find that website to use?2. How satisfied are you with the amount of

information that you found?3. How likely are you to recommend this

website?4. How amazing is this presentation?



1. How easy or difficult did you find that website to use?

2. How satisfied or dissatisfied are you with the amount of information that you found?

3. How likely or unlikely are you to recommend this website?

4. How amazing is this presentation?



Can we do better?



1. Tell me about what you found easy. Now tell me about what you found more difficult.

2. Did you feel like the information you read answered your question?

3. What would you tell a friend about this website?



Anchoring effectBiases can multiply



1 x 2 x 3 x 4 x 5 x 6 x 7 x 8



8 x 7 x 6 x 5 x 4 x 3 x 2 x 1



40,320



Dunning-Kruger effectYou don’t know what you don’t know



(Kruger & Dunning, 1999)



Fundamental attribution errorIt might be your fault



1. Is it the person or the situation?2. Are you the situation?



Thank you!Jessica Cameron@jessscameron

what can social psychology teach us about (better) ux research?

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