Summary Human Media Interaction
Theory Lectures (fall 2021)
Institution: Tilburg University (TSHD)
Study: Master Track Communication and Information Sciences
Course: Human Media Interaction Theory (fall) 2021
Author: Iris Beniers
,Table of Contents
Content Table ............................................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
Lecture 1 – User Engagement ................................................................................................................. 3
Lecture 2 – Web-design and visual impairment.................................................................................... 11
Lecture 3 – Perception & Attention ...................................................................................................... 17
Lecture 4 – Attention & Cognitive load ................................................................................................. 24
Lecture 5 – Memory & Learning in the digital age ................................................................................ 30
Lecture 6 – Media Multitasking ............................................................................................................. 44
Lecture 7 – Emotion & Persuasion in New Media ................................................................................. 61
Lecture 8 – Motivation & Addiction ...................................................................................................... 73
Lecture 9 – Social Cognition in Immersive Media ................................................................................. 82
Lecture 10 – Games & Narratives.......................................................................................................... 89
Lecture 11 – Aesthetics ......................................................................................................................... 93
,Lecture 1 – User Engagement
What is the role of HMIT?
We have the highly complex and changing human needs and abilities. In addition to that we have
innovation and creative design processes. And also complex new media landscape.
HMIT: The psychological study of how people interact with media.
Other impact that media can have on people in terms of psychology are sleep disturbance, stress,
anxiety, decreased academic performance or decreased physical activity. But we will not discuss
these aspects during these classes.
User Engagement
We can look at User Engagement in two ways/from two perspectives:
Metrics perspective (behavioural perspective): how much interaction does the user have with the
product, and for how long? (e.g., website engagement measured by clicks/likes/comments, sharing
behaviour, returning users, time spend on website, etc).
Cognitive-psychological perspective (theoretical perspective): describing and understanding the
experience of engagement.
Definitions
Think about the last time that you lost track of time and of your immediate surroundings while doing
something you really liked. In this case you find yourself in a specific state of mind. This state of mind
has multiple definitions/concepts, such as:
, Why do we care about engagement?
We want our customers to come back and buy more products from our company.
From Usability to User Experience (UX)
Usability: assess whether user interface is easy to use and meets requirements (effectiveness,
efficiency, satisfaction).
UX (User Experience): understand the deeper, personal experience of the user (affect/emotion, fun,
exciting, motivations, attitudes, attention, engagement).
Flow theory
This is a concept about the ‘optimal experience’ (which he called ‘flow’) that is introduced by a
researcher named Mihály Csikszentmihályi. Which is an interesting concept, since the goal of
probably all (media) designers is to create this optimal experience of course.
He took many interviews with experts (within different field), like chess players, rock climbers, and
dancers. And he found that independent of the type of task/activity that the interviewees
performed, respondents all experiences to be in some kind of ‘flow’ or ‘zone’ when doing it.
What is flow?
Flow = a state of a holistic sensation that people feel when they act with total involvement, feel at
their best, perform at their best – or optimal experience of and engagement to activity.
Typical flow activities:
● (Extreme) sports;
● Gaming;
● Creative acts (composing, writing, painting, dancing).
This ‘holistic sensation’ as we call it above, can basically be described as the sensation in which all
your cognitive, affective, and physical/motor systems are dedicated to the same task and goal (and in
which you are not being disturbed by other activities or the environment around you).
Sub-features of Flow
Main feature:
The main feature of flow theory is the perfect balance/harmony between Challenge and Skill
(Challenge-Skill Balance). Challenge as in how challenging the task is that you are doing. And skill is
about how skilled you are in this specific task. When those two are in balance, you have a great
opportunity to experience this flow-experience.
Theory Lectures (fall 2021)
Institution: Tilburg University (TSHD)
Study: Master Track Communication and Information Sciences
Course: Human Media Interaction Theory (fall) 2021
Author: Iris Beniers
,Table of Contents
Content Table ............................................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
Lecture 1 – User Engagement ................................................................................................................. 3
Lecture 2 – Web-design and visual impairment.................................................................................... 11
Lecture 3 – Perception & Attention ...................................................................................................... 17
Lecture 4 – Attention & Cognitive load ................................................................................................. 24
Lecture 5 – Memory & Learning in the digital age ................................................................................ 30
Lecture 6 – Media Multitasking ............................................................................................................. 44
Lecture 7 – Emotion & Persuasion in New Media ................................................................................. 61
Lecture 8 – Motivation & Addiction ...................................................................................................... 73
Lecture 9 – Social Cognition in Immersive Media ................................................................................. 82
Lecture 10 – Games & Narratives.......................................................................................................... 89
Lecture 11 – Aesthetics ......................................................................................................................... 93
,Lecture 1 – User Engagement
What is the role of HMIT?
We have the highly complex and changing human needs and abilities. In addition to that we have
innovation and creative design processes. And also complex new media landscape.
HMIT: The psychological study of how people interact with media.
Other impact that media can have on people in terms of psychology are sleep disturbance, stress,
anxiety, decreased academic performance or decreased physical activity. But we will not discuss
these aspects during these classes.
User Engagement
We can look at User Engagement in two ways/from two perspectives:
Metrics perspective (behavioural perspective): how much interaction does the user have with the
product, and for how long? (e.g., website engagement measured by clicks/likes/comments, sharing
behaviour, returning users, time spend on website, etc).
Cognitive-psychological perspective (theoretical perspective): describing and understanding the
experience of engagement.
Definitions
Think about the last time that you lost track of time and of your immediate surroundings while doing
something you really liked. In this case you find yourself in a specific state of mind. This state of mind
has multiple definitions/concepts, such as:
, Why do we care about engagement?
We want our customers to come back and buy more products from our company.
From Usability to User Experience (UX)
Usability: assess whether user interface is easy to use and meets requirements (effectiveness,
efficiency, satisfaction).
UX (User Experience): understand the deeper, personal experience of the user (affect/emotion, fun,
exciting, motivations, attitudes, attention, engagement).
Flow theory
This is a concept about the ‘optimal experience’ (which he called ‘flow’) that is introduced by a
researcher named Mihály Csikszentmihályi. Which is an interesting concept, since the goal of
probably all (media) designers is to create this optimal experience of course.
He took many interviews with experts (within different field), like chess players, rock climbers, and
dancers. And he found that independent of the type of task/activity that the interviewees
performed, respondents all experiences to be in some kind of ‘flow’ or ‘zone’ when doing it.
What is flow?
Flow = a state of a holistic sensation that people feel when they act with total involvement, feel at
their best, perform at their best – or optimal experience of and engagement to activity.
Typical flow activities:
● (Extreme) sports;
● Gaming;
● Creative acts (composing, writing, painting, dancing).
This ‘holistic sensation’ as we call it above, can basically be described as the sensation in which all
your cognitive, affective, and physical/motor systems are dedicated to the same task and goal (and in
which you are not being disturbed by other activities or the environment around you).
Sub-features of Flow
Main feature:
The main feature of flow theory is the perfect balance/harmony between Challenge and Skill
(Challenge-Skill Balance). Challenge as in how challenging the task is that you are doing. And skill is
about how skilled you are in this specific task. When those two are in balance, you have a great
opportunity to experience this flow-experience.
