I am currently doing research with the Human Computer Interaction Group where we are developing a mobile platform for overweight kids in an attempt to help them overcome their weight problems. However, rather than discussing my research group, I want to discuss a different group, the users of our system.
The users of our site are overweight kids looking for a tool to help them lose weight. Therefore, the goal of the group using our site is to develop healthier eating habits and to ultimately lose weight. On our site, the kids have a digital pet whose appearance and health changes based on what they eat. The cognitive system includes my research group (the ones loading the pictures to the site and giving them comments), a mobile phone with a camera and the website itself.
The representations used in carrying out the task are externally encoded. The site displays the user’s virtual pet, an archive of all of the photos the user has submitted along with the scores and comments that we gave them. This enables the kids to visually see and remember everything they have consumed rather than having to internally retain this information. By taking a picture and submitting it to us, the kids do not have to worry about keeping track of their intake. They can easily see everything they have eaten, change their eating habits and track their progress. The only internal encoded part of the system is to remember to take and submit the pictures to the site.
On the site, the kid’s food intake, comments and progress are represented. These representations are transformed because every day the kids submit their pictures and get updates on the status of their pet. This pet is their feedback mechanism, which shows them the progress they are making towards their goal. The kids can also see their past pictures and comments, which allows them to analyze their intake and help them make improvements for the future.
The task of our users is both tightly and loosely coupled. It is loosely coupled in the sense that the users are choosing what they eat and when to submit their pictures. However, it is tightly coupled because they are depending on us to update their pet and give them comments on what they have been eating. Even though we never meet these kids Face to Face, their dependence on us is important because they cannot make progress in achieving their goal without our input and analysis. Therefore, this is a sequential and reciprocal process. The users take pictures of what they have consumed and submit it to the site. Once they submit their pictures, we comment on them.
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As a member of your research team I must say it was really interesting to think about the platform and the users in this way. In this way, the whole point of what we are doing is to transform the picture representations by sending them to us and receiving feedback-- and hopefully changing/maintaining the way they eat in hopes that they will become healthier.
ReplyDeleteIt is also interesting to consider a future goal of ours: have kids work as a team, so that if one of them is failing to eat healthily, the whole group suffers. While this could still be considered loosely coupled in some ways, it would also be extremely tightly coupled in others. One factor that is involved in coupling is "...how much interaction is required for either clarification or persuasion" (Olson 422), and there is also the need for interaction if one member is hurting the whole group. Without the factors of tight coupling it is likely that the goal/task would not be reached/completed.
Really interesting post. It's fascinating to consider psychological transformation as the task that requires tight coupling in order to be completed successfully... would you consider most social phenomena the results of tightly coupled interactions?
ReplyDeleteI like the external representation of the weight in the form of a pet. I often feel like we internalize our anxieties too much and then it's harder to deal with, so the external representation of the eating habit probably allows the kids to rationally solve their problem from an "outside" perspective, which can give them much more insight than simply internalizing it.