Investigating User Emotional Responses to Eco-Feedback Designs

Emotional responses to a product can be critical to influencing how the product will be used. This study explores the emotions that arise from users’ interaction with eco-feedback products, and investigates links between emotions and users’ resource conservation behaviors. In-lab experiments were conducted with 30 participants of varying backgrounds. Each participant was shown sketches of four conceptual designs of eco-feedback products and reported how they would feel and behave in different scenarios using the products. Results showed that taking immediate resource conservation actions such as turning off lights was correlated with negative emotions such as guilt and embarrassment. Users’ evaluations of product aesthetics, usefulness and overall quality, however, were highly correlated with positive emotions, described as satisfied, hopeful, interested and/or excited. Two styles of eco-feedback design, quantitative and figurative, were compared. Figurative designs were observed to evoke much stronger emotions among younger participants than older ones. Ultimately, we hope our findings are useful to the designers of eco-feedback products.