Research
The computer has rapidly become a commonplace and essential tool for business, education, and personal use. But despite its many benefits, using a computer remains an often-frustrating experience in which time and other valuable resources are wasted.
Engineers, programmers and others who design and produce computer hardware and software work hard to create innovative products with new power and features, but the problems associated with computer use have remained and if anything, worsened. Researchers in the subspecialty of computer science known as Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) argue that computer use will be made satisfying and efficient only if we understand it from a psychological perspective. They've developed a number of interesting theories and made some, but limited, progress in this effort. A valuable insight missing from most HCI theory and research, however, concerns the role of the computer, and specifically computer software, as a communication medium.
A growing number of computer science, psychology, and communication scholars are examining an increasingly common experience among media users: the sense that they're not using a medium at all. This illusion of nonmediation is called presence (short for telepresence). The most common type of presence (spatial presence) refers to a sense of 'being there'; an experience in which the characteristics of a mediated presentation mimic those of 'the real thing' just enough to create the (usually desired) illusion that the user is 'somewhere else.' Although typically examined with respect to relatively new and sophisticated media such as virtual reality, simulation rides, 3D IMAX films and High Definition Television (HDTV), presence has been found with traditional media such as film, television, radio, and even novels. Although computers logically can create this type of illusion for users, this phenomenon has been minimally examined. However, a small group of researchers have documented a related but distinct kind of illusion of nonmediation in the case of computers, an intriguing set of phenomena in which users unconsciously respond to the computer not as a machine but as if it was an intelligent social entity, i.e., social presence. In all cases, a person experiencing presence overlooks one or more key characteristics of the communication medium and the experience is said to be 'natural?, ?intuitive? or 'easy.'
This dissertation applies the theoretical and research literature related to presence to the study of human-computer interaction. It does so first by examining the potential of computer software that incorporates spatial and social cues to evoke two types of presence responses among users: 1) the illusion that the user is 'inside' the environment created by the software, and 2) the illusion that the computer is an interacting social entity rather than a medium. And because presence has been associated with a sense of 'intuitive' interaction, this dissertation examines the relationship between each of these types of presence responses and the satisfaction with and efficiency of computer use.
Users' perceptions and interactions with computers will be studied in an experiment in which subjects will use one of four versions of a software application; the versions will contain varied combinations of environmental and social cues. The independent variables include these manipulations of presence, along with users' experience with technology and various demographic and psycho-graphic measures. The dependent variables include perceived spatial and social presence, affective responses including enjoyment and satisfaction, control, and actual and perceived efficiency.
This research will lead to better understanding of how to improve the study of Human Computer Interaction, contribute to communication and Presence research, and ultimately has the potential to increase the usability of a variety of computer software applications.
Last updated: November 24, 2004