An investigation of the basic elements for human-computer interaction from the aspect of psychological feelings

Abstract

This research aimed to investigate the basic elements, in particular non-linguistics features, for human-computer interaction from the aspect of psychological feelings. The investigation was focused on the features of the alert box popping out from a computer. Design features of alert boxes were studied and categorized into three ingredients. They were “colour scheme”, “font type” and “symbol”. The three ingredients are the basic features for the reconfiguration of a web page that function as non-linguistics messages and provide sentimental impact via visual communication. However, very little research work has been reported on the web page design in relation to those basic features under the contents of psychological feelings. In the study, four human-computer communication circumstances were recognized and described by a set of behaviour categories. Six important sentiments associated with the interaction circumstances were identified. They were “anxious”, “aware of the existence of the user”, “honest”, “meaningful”, “rude” and “trustworthy”. The degree of significance of the reconfiguration of the basic features affecting individual psychological feelings was explored. The findings showed that primary colour scheme, oval callout symbol and serif fonts offered positive feelings. Secondary colour scheme, triangle symbol and decorative fonts gave negative feelings. The research provided guidelines to reconfigure the features of an alert box in matching individual’s perception. The thesis covers the study of Kansei Engineering, behaviour categories in interpersonal communication and the design of alert boxes. The surveys for investigating the important sentiments for human-computer interaction and exploring the relationships between the basic features of the alert boxes and the important sentiments are included. The results were analyzed and discussed in the thesis.