Assessing User Experience via Biometric Sensor Affect Detection

Traditional user experience assessments rely on self-report, human-system performance, and observational data that incompletely capture users’ psychological demands, processing, or affect. Specifically, self-report measures require users to identify and articulate subjective responses to product features, yet users may not possess accurate awareness or may be unwilling or unable to express themselves. Similarly, human-system performance and observational measures require analysts to make inferences about hidden psychological states based on observed external patterns. This chapter discusses how biometric sensor-based affect detection technologies (e.g., eye tracking and EEG) may supplement traditional methods. By measuring biometric indicators of psychological states, researchers can gain potentially richer and more accurate insights into user experience. These technologies are gaining traction in educational technology development and functionality, and thus the extension of these tools for usability and user experience evaluation is highly feasible.