Anna E. Pohlmeyer

Bio: Anna E. Pohlmeyer is an academic researcher from Delft University of Technology. The author has contributed to research in topics: User experience design & Happiness. The author has an hindex of 15, co-authored 41 publications receiving 728 citations. Previous affiliations of Anna E. Pohlmeyer include Technical University of Berlin & Max Planck Society.

Positive design : An introduction to design for subjective well-being

Abstract: This paper addresses the question of how design can contribute to the happiness of individuals–to their subjective well-being. A framework for positive design is introduced that includes three main components of subjective well-being: pleasure, personal significance and virtue. Each component represents an ingredient of design for happiness, and we propose that design that expressly includes all three ingredients is design that promotes human flourishing. People who flourish are developing as individuals, live their lives to their fullest potential, and act in the best interests of society. The intention to support human flourishing is the explicit, central design objective of positive design. Five characteristics of positive design are proposed, all of which are of relevance to organizing design processes that intend to result in designs that stimulate human flourishing. In addition, some contemporary design approaches are discussed that focus on quality of life, including nudge, capability approach, and experience design. Four important research challenges are outlined to indicate directions for a research agenda. Together with the framework, these research directions are intended to offer inspiration for designers and design researchers to join forces in their endeavours to design for subjective well-being.

Walking Variability and Working-Memory Load in Aging: A Dual-Process Account Relating Cognitive Control to Motor Control Performance

Abstract: Effects of cognitive activities on walking variability are poorly understood. We parametrically manipulated working-memory load by using an n-back task in 32 younger adults and 32 older adults walking on a treadmill at self-selected speed. We found no dual-task costs for cognitive performance. Stride-to-stride variability was lower when participants performed an easy working-memory task than when they walked without cognitive tasks. Increasing working-memory load from 1-back to 4-back produced decreasing variability of stride time and stride length in younger but not in older adults. Extending the 2006 dual-process account proposed by Huxhold, Li, Schmiedek, and Lindenberger, we conclude that normal aging alters the trade-off between the effects of focus of attention and resource competition on walking variability.

Age and cross-cultural comparison of drivers’ cognitive workload and performance in simulated urban driving

Abstract: Driving demands significant psychomotor attention and requires even more when drivers are engaged in secondary tasks that increase cognitive workload and divert attention. It is well established that age influences driving risk. Less is known about how culture impacts changes in attention. We conducted parallel driving simulations in the US and Korea to measure the extent to which age and culture influence dual-task performance. There were 135 participants divided into two groups: a younger group aged 20∼29, and an older group aged 60∼69. Whereas some differences by culture appeared in absolute control measures, the younger participants showed similar mean velocity and compensatory patterns associated with increased cognitive load in the urban setting; however, the results from the older samples were less similar.

IUUI - Intuitive Use of User Interfaces

Abstract: Die Begriffe „Intuition“, „intuitiv“ und „Intuitivitat“ werden in der Alltagssprache haufig gebraucht, um bestimmte Aspekte der Benutzung technischer Systeme zu beschreiben. Im wissenschaftlichen Diskurs werden diese Begriffe dagegen oft vermieden, da fur sie bisher keine etablierte Definition existiert. Der Arbeitskreis "Intuitive Use of User Interfaces" (IUUI) hat sich zum Ziel gesetzt, „Intuitivitat“ im Kontext Mensch-TechnikInteraktion zu untersuchen, zu definieren sowie praktikable Gestaltungslosungen zu erarbeiten. In diesem Beitrag wird eine allgemeine Definition des Begriffs "Intuitivitat" vorgestellt, die Intuitivitat als Eigenschaft von MenschTechnik-Systemen versteht, sowie ein Uberblick uber Voraussetzungen und Einschrankungen der Begriffsverwendung gegeben.

Embodied Typology of Positive Emotions The Development of a Tool to Facilitate Emotional Granularity in Design

Abstract: This paper introduces a tool that has been developed to facilitate emotional granularity in design: ‘Embodied Typology of Positive Emotions’. Emotional granularity reflects individual differences in the ability to precisely represent and interpret one’s own and others’ emotional states, referring to distinct emotion words rather than merely to a general feeling of pleasantness. It can be advantageous for designers to have high emotional granularity. In design, the awareness of and ability to label nuances in emotions may facilitate to recognise users’ complex emotional responses with accuracy, and to specify design intentions in terms of emotional impact more clearly. The tool supports an understanding of 25 positive emotions by providing definitions of emotion labels, eliciting conditions, and visuals of expressive behavioural manifestations. This paper describes the tool, its development process, as well as ideas for applications in design. Implications of the tool and future research steps are discussed.

Impact of Incremental Increases in Cognitive Workload on Physiological Arousal and Performance in Young Adult Drivers

Abstract: This study examined the sensitivity of heart rate, skin conductance, and respiration rate as measures of mental workload in a simulated driving environment. Workload was systematically manipulated by using increasingly difficult levels of a secondary cognitive task. In a sample of 121 young adults, heart rate increased incrementally with increasing task demand. Significant elevations in skin conductance and respiration rate were also observed. At the lower levels of added workload, secondary task performance was nearly perfect and changes in indices of driving performance were negligible. At the highest level of workload, all three physiological measures appeared to plateau, and a subtle drop in simulated driving performance became detectable. Taken together, the pattern of results indicates that physiological measures can be sensitive to changes in workload before the appearance of clear decrements in driving performance. These findings further highlight a role for physiological monitoring as a means to measure mental workload in product design and functionality research. They also support work exploring the potential for incorporating physiological measures of driver workload and attentional state in future safety systems.