AbstractsPsychology

Almost every mundane activity in which we engage during the day (e.g., walking, running, meeting other people etc.) leaves a trace in the form of data that can be collected, measured and shared as input to shape individual and social interactions. This data can be referred to as ‘activity traces’ (Dong 2014). A nascent application domain for these traces is ‘Social sensing’—that is, the ability to sense social structures in a social context. This thesis addressed the main research question: “How can connected object be used to support meaningful experiences of social sensing?” This project focussed on social sensing in situations of co-presence, and specifically on mingling events. A ‘mingling event’ is defined here as a large gathering of people in a relatively confined space. Pop Glass is an example of how activity traces can be used to evoke a meaningful experience of social sensing in a mingling event. When two users of Pop Glass share a toast their glasses will get the same colour. This creates a dynamic network of colours, which you are able to see and change. This concept was used in a study to investigate notions of “meaningfulness”. In giving meaning there is formal meaning (how we make experiences intelligible) and affective meaning (Our emotional responses to experiences). On a level of formal meaning sensing social structure through activity traces can be seen as a way of ordering information that connected objects carry out. An affective meaningful experience in a mingling event will mostly depend on the relevance of the conversation. However, the ability to sense social structure in a mingling event might cue you towards relevant people. The user study with Pop Glass aims on revealing its effects on the social experience of the crowd and how sense making played a role in it. 29 students participated in a staged network event with Pop Glass. They were measured by neck sensors and recorded by cameras and microphones. The lights of the glasses turned on half way through the event, so the experience with or without the lights could be tested. Participants were also asked to fill in a pre- and post-questionnaire. Afterwards 10 of them were interviewed about their experiences. Due to time constraints the Pop Glasses were programmed individually. This made them have lights that followed a random colour sequence with a random time interval. This did not harm the intentions of the test, because it was never tested if people saw a structure in the lights in the initial concept of Pop Glass. Two external research parties contributed in preparing the test and in analysing data. Researchers from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science (EEMCS), from Delft University of Technology led by Dr. Hung analysed proximity data and annotations of group size over time quantitatively. Dr. Day, ethnomethodologist and expert in interaction analysis from the department of Language and Communication at the University of Southern Denmark, conducted a conversation analysis based on scenes of…