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Cross-situation consistency of mobile App users' psychological needs
Zaoyi Sun1, Pei Zhang1, Zhiwei Ji2
1Department of psychology and Behavioral Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China.
Plos One
|April 25, 2019
Summary
Individuals' psychological needs consistently predict app usage across different situations. This finding supports personalized cross-category app recommendations based on user needs.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Human-Computer Interaction
- Data Science
Background:
- Previous research linked personality traits to consistent behavioral patterns.
- Psychological needs have not been extensively studied in relation to behavioral consistency.
- Understanding user needs is crucial for personalized digital experiences.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the consistency of needs-based app usage profiles across diverse situations.
- To determine if psychological needs predict app selection across different functional categories.
- To provide empirical evidence for the efficacy of needs-based app recommendation systems.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of a large-scale dataset comprising 1,715,078 anonymous user app usage records.
- Examination of app usage patterns indexed by categories of app functions.
- Assessment of the consistency of user app choices based on underlying psychological needs.
Main Results:
- A high degree of consistency was observed in users' app choices across different situations.
- App usage patterns were reliably associated with the psychological needs that apps satisfy.
- The findings demonstrate a predictable relationship between user needs and app selection behavior.
Conclusions:
- Individual psychological needs are strong predictors of app usage consistency across various contexts.
- Needs-based app usage profiles offer a robust foundation for developing effective cross-category app recommendation systems.
- This study validates the utility of psychological needs in understanding and personalizing user digital behavior.
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