Technique: Mental Energy Analysis 1.Mental Energy: At the cognitive level, the interaction between...

Technique: Mental Energy Analysis

1. Mental Energy: At the cognitive level, the interaction between people and artifacts (or people and people) can be modeled as a conversion of mental energy.

2

Copyright © 2009 Mark K. Clare

Mental Energy Why is this a good foundation for optimizing design for how minds work?

We put mental energy into artifacts to learn, use and maintain them and we get mental energy out in terms of how they make us think and feel. The concept of energy in cognitive psychology and neuroscience is getting traction– Provides potential scientific foundation

We can unify (post hoc) a large number of cognitive factors under one conceptual roof

3


Energy or resource constrained

view of mind

Cognitive Load

The New Science of Mental Energy

International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI)

Ego Depletion and Self StudiesVisceral Factors

Statistical Models of Neural ProcessingPsychophysics

1. Ability to do mental work

2. Feeling of energy/fatigue

3. Motivation to accomplish mental/

physical tasks

The Science of Mental Energy is on the Rise

Minimize “free energy” to optimally tune mental models to sensory input

At the psychological level we seek to maximize our mental energy.

4


Interaction as the Conversion of Mental Energy

Mental energy that goes into an interaction is converted into an altered form of mental energy that comes out of the interactionMental energy can be generated or released during the interactionCan have the experience of getting more out then we put it (net mental energy that “picks us up”) or using more then we get (loss of mental energy that “brings us down”)The experience of mental energy strongly determines the relationship we have with artifacts

5


Load Factors:Estimating Mental Workload or Energy-In

Mental Effort– Intensity of perception and interpretation– Number of decisions to be made– Length of (number of steps) in procedures to follow– Amount of learning

Conscious Memory– Number of items in working memory– Level of abstraction– Number of things I must remember to remember (prospective memory)

Vigilance– Need to self regulate, monitor or control– Role of situational awareness and variability– Use of executive functions or metacognition

Time Pressure– Penalty for acting to slowly or fast– Consciously monitor time during use

The more things I need to figure out, remember, monitor and control the more energy I must put into the interaction.

6


Production Factors:Estimating Mental Benefit or Energy-Out

Meaning– Personal association– Remembrance– Link to identity

Visceral Response– Emotions– Drive states (hunger, pain, fear, thirst, sexual desire)– Cravings or addictions

Incidental Processing– Associations, metaphors, archetypes– Heuristics, cognitive bias, automatic naturalistic reasoning– Activation of a mental model, script or other cognitive structure

Duration– Extending with positive valence can lead to savoring or other optimal state– Strong negative valence (e.g. revenge) can linger indefinitely

Triggering positive, deep and naturalistically aligned associations can release tremendous mental energy.

7


Cognitive Ergonomics

Energy-In > Energy-Out = AgitatesEnergy-In = Energy-Out = ToleratesEnergy-Out > Energy-In = ResonatesEnergy-Out >> Energy-In = Accelerates

8


Design Observations

Agitate is not always bad designTolerate seems mundane but can be a great achievement in complex situationsResonance often requires a tight fit to a psychographic profileIntegrate can be established with ordinary objects

Load Factors (L)

or cool cognitive

subsystem

Mental Effort

Conscious Memory

Vigilance

Time Pressure

Mental Workload or Energy-In

Production Factors (P)

or hot cognitive

subsystem

Meaning

Visceral Response

Triggered Structures

Duration

Mental Benefit or

Energy-Out

Emotions

Drive States

Cravings

+

-

+

-

+

-

Level of Cognitive Fit or Frame of

Mind

L << P (accelerate)L < P (resonate)L = P (tolerate)L > P (agitate)

+

-

Decrease negative valences (-) and increase positive (+) valence effects.

Self Regulation

Triggered Processes

+

-

A Mental Energy Framework for Designers

10


Using the Mental Energy Framework

Can assess current artifacts and suggest potential improvementTool for reverse engineering highly successful designFactors indicate which areas of cognitive science are especially relevant to designersProvides direction for what should be modeled or studied

11


Discussion or Group Activity

Generate a list of artifacts – products, services, work processes, programs, etc. that have dramatically poor cognitive ergonomics

– Very high load compared to production– Tend to agitate us or otherwise produce a negative mental state

Generate a list of artifacts with outstanding cognitive ergonomics– Very high production compared to load – Tend to resonance with us or even accelerate our thoughts and feelings to

produce a positive mental state

Identify at least one feature and corresponding cognitive factor that is driving the ergonomics

See handout for summary of factors and framework

Technique: Mental Energy Analysis 1.Mental Energy: At the cognitive level, the interaction between...

Documents

Transcript of Technique: Mental Energy Analysis 1.Mental Energy: At the cognitive level, the interaction between...