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Don't touch that dial: Psychological reactance, transparency, and user acceptance of smart thermostat setting changes
Matthew Heatherly1, D A Baker2, Casey Canfield1
1Department of Engineering Management & Systems Engineering, Missouri University of Science & Technology, Rolla, MO, United States of America.
Plos One
|July 24, 2023
Summary
Users may resist smart technology if it feels controlling. Transparency in automated systems, like smart thermostats, reduces this resistance and increases acceptance, promoting sustainable behaviors.
Area of Science:
- Human-Computer Interaction
- Psychology
- Sustainable Technology
Background:
- Automation in smart devices can reduce user control.
- Perceived loss of freedom may trigger psychological reactance.
- Understanding user responses to automation is crucial for adoption.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate user psychological reactance to automated smart thermostat notifications.
- To identify factors influencing user acceptance of smart home technology.
- To explore how transparency impacts user perception of automated control.
Main Methods:
- Online experiment with participants interacting with a hypothetical smart thermostat.
- Manipulation of notification phrasing: authoritative language, temperature deviation, and transparency.
- Measurement of psychological reactance and user acceptance.
Main Results:
- Authoritative language, significant temperature deviations, and lack of transparency increased reactance.
- Transparency mitigated reactance and increased acceptance when temperature changes deviated from user preferences.
- Providing justifications for automated actions enhanced user acceptance.
Conclusions:
- System transparency is key to mitigating psychological reactance in automated environments.
- Behavioral approaches, like transparent demand response, can increase user acceptance of sustainable technologies.
- Designing automated systems with user control and transparency in mind is vital for widespread adoption.
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