Momentary pleasure or lasting meaning? distinguishing eudaimonic and hedonic user experiences

TY - GEN

T1 - Momentary pleasure or lasting meaning?

T2 - 34th Annual CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

AU - Mekler, Elisa D.

AU - Hornbæk, Kasper

N1 - Conference code: 34

PY - 2016

Y1 - 2016

N2 - User experience (UX) research has expanded our notion of what makes interactive technology good, often putting hedonic aspects of use such as fun, affect, and stimulation at the center. Outside of UX, the hedonic is often contrasted to the eudaimonic, the notion of striving towards one's personal best. It remains unclear, however, what this distinction offers to UX research conceptually and empirically. We investigate a possible role for eudaimonia in UX research by empirically examining 266 reports of positive experiences with technology and analyzing its relation to established UX concepts. Compared to hedonic experiences, eudaimonic experiences were about striving towards and accomplishing personal goals through technology use. They were also characterized by increased need fulfillment, positive affect, meaning, and long-term importance. Taken together, our findings suggest that while hedonic UX is about momentary pleasures directly derived from technology use, eudaimonic UX is about meaning from need fulfilment.

AB - User experience (UX) research has expanded our notion of what makes interactive technology good, often putting hedonic aspects of use such as fun, affect, and stimulation at the center. Outside of UX, the hedonic is often contrasted to the eudaimonic, the notion of striving towards one's personal best. It remains unclear, however, what this distinction offers to UX research conceptually and empirically. We investigate a possible role for eudaimonia in UX research by empirically examining 266 reports of positive experiences with technology and analyzing its relation to established UX concepts. Compared to hedonic experiences, eudaimonic experiences were about striving towards and accomplishing personal goals through technology use. They were also characterized by increased need fulfillment, positive affect, meaning, and long-term importance. Taken together, our findings suggest that while hedonic UX is about momentary pleasures directly derived from technology use, eudaimonic UX is about meaning from need fulfilment.

KW - eudaimonia, hedonic, meaning, user experience

U2 - 10.1145/2858036.2858225

DO - 10.1145/2858036.2858225

M3 - Article in proceedings

SN - 978-1-4503-3362-7

SP - 4509

EP - 4520

BT - Proceedings - the 34th Annual CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

PB - Association for Computing Machinery

Y2 - 7 May 2016 through 12 May 2016

ER -