TP1 Adjustments

Researching sensitive topics: Adjusting cultural probes to research and identify design spaces for sensitive HCI. Gregory Jackson Interaction Design One-year master 15 Credits Spring Semester 2020 Supervisor: Maliheh Ghajargar 2 Table of contents: Abstract 3 Introduction 4 Research Questions 5 Knowledge Contribution 6 Ethical/Privacy Concerns 6 Background 7 Sensitive-HCI 7 Psychotherapy X Design 10 Cultural Probes 11 Sensitive Research Methods 15 Design Process 19 Probe Design & Implementation 26 Introduction 26 ‘How to use’ 27 Task One - ‘Design an ‘honest’ Tinder’ 28 Task Two - ‘Design a ‘truthful’ porn’ 30 Task Three - ‘Sexual language’ 32 Task Four - ‘Build a personal and healthy sexual education’ 34 Task Five - ‘Find three sexual romanticisms in 5 minutes’ 35 Task Six - ‘Sweet Nothings’ 37 Task Seven - ‘5 Minute Debate’ 41 Task Eight - ‘A gender difference?’ 43 Task Nine - ‘Advertise actual norms’ 44 Task Ten - ‘Your thoughts’ 45 Key Results 46 Discussion 47 Future developments 52 Conclusion 52 Acknowledgements 53 Bibliography 54 3 Abstract Research tools to identify sensitive topics and thus new opportunities to design for have grown in popularity in the last twenty years within HCI, with many projects and areas to note. However, the research tools used are still underdeveloped (Crabtree, 2003), and many universal designs of the 20th century have failed to develop for more sensitive areas, bar the conventional young, non-disabled, white, cis-male (Clarkson, 2003). The topics discussed in the thesis are reviews and arguments for the use of an adapted cultural probe’s place to research sensitive topics, identify perhaps previously hidden “sensitive-HCI” (Waycott et al. 2015) design spaces. The focus is on the tools to gather data, and discover design opportunities, rather than the particular and actual findings from the study. 4 Introduction In current western society, we have a considerable advantage over our C19th and C20th predecessors in regards to what is viewed as acceptable in mainstream society; for example, sexuality, body standards, disability, race, religion, etc. and how these things are portrayed and judged. However, sensitive topics (as defined by Lee as “research which potentially poses a substantial threat, to those who are or have been part of it” (Lee, 1993, pg.4)) remain a delicate area in research and design. It can be mentally and emotionally draining for both researchers and researched (Lee, 1993) to manage these sensitivities which, even now, have the potential to lead to compromised ethics and are “more likely to have application in the ‘real world’” (Sieber and Stanley, 1988, p. 59). This paper follows Farberow’s consideration of topics being sensitive if they address an established cultural taboo, a subject that is described as “emotion-laden and fear-provoking or if it represents some kind of threat to the participants in the study: the respondents, the researchers or the people close to them” (Condomines & Hennequin, 2014, p. 2). Within this definition, the project uses research around sexual themes and sexuality as an example of addressing a sensitive topic. Although the extent of research and design focus on sensitive topics is seemingly on the rise - Bardzell et al. describe that research towards sexual themes has apparently still not had a comprehensive exploration of methodologies within HCI, with many gaps still visible (2011). Also, within the field, there has been a trend to “desexualise technology” (Brewer et al. 2006, p. 1). Both Bardzell et al. and Brewer et al. call for a future that promotes industry-level research in this area. This paper aims to be a part of answering that call, reviewing current research practices, and putting forward a version of an adapted cultural probe to research and identify subjects within sensitive/sexual topics and thus better informing and guiding future research and design spaces within HCI. When discussing the adaption of Gaver’s cultural probe to one that is focused on dealing with sensitive subjects, the thesis follows Bellotti et al. (2003), in their approach to probe use: “The cultural probe is not a prototype, but a tool to help determine which kinds of technologies would be interesting to design in the future. A successful technology probe is open-ended and explicitly co-adaptive: we expect the users to adapt to the new technology but also adapt it in creative new ways, for their own purposes”. (Bellotti et al. 2003, pg. 2). 5 This idea can be furthered, especially discussing Hirsch who states “working more closely with a greater variety of people and perspectives enriches our experience and enables our field to find greater relevance and impact” (2020, p. 8). The idea stands particularly true when it comes to designing technology that regards sex and sexuality, as it crosses the “physical, emotional, psychological, social, cultural, political, legal, philosophical, moral, ethical, spiritual and religious dimensions of both everyday life and academic disciplines” (Bardzell et al. 2011, pg. 701). It is critical to note that the adapted cultural probe is not, and was not intended to be simple or an out of the box solution to the universal span of sensitive topics. It is instead focusing on the development of social research methods within HCI to gather sensitive data from the participants' sexual cultures. The adapted cultural probe also does not make any claims to aid in the researchers understanding of the circumstances, thoughts and opinions of the participants, as the research team will hold their own biases, and beliefs, but instead aims at informing the research team in the participants’ perception of normal, and/or to explore the perhaps yet unidentified opinions through conversation. This concept relies on both researcher and researched forming a style of open relationship, self-identifying biases, entertaining notions that aren’t necessarily their own, and keeping an open mind. The concept of creating research tools to identify (and thus design for) sensitive subjects in HCI is necessary, particularly in the current high paced society, as Clulow states, the variety of perspectives and opinions of each individual are highly abstract, while both the circumstances and attitudes that individuals hold are not resolute entities but instead ever-changing, dynamic concepts (2019), which could leave the research behind. As Gaver states “would be a mistake to dismiss them on that ground: for unless we start to respect the full range of values that make us human, the technologies we build are likely to be dull and uninteresting at best, and dehumanising at worst“ (Gaver 2001). The next chapter will document and assess the literature review appropriate to these topics: current sensitive-HCI projects addressing particularly sensitive topics, psychotherapy tools and discuss the merits of adapted cultural probes and highlight the possibilities they offer for future HCI. Research Questions RQ1: What are adapted cultural probes place in identifying and informing design spaces for sensitive settings? 6 The primary research question concerns researching practical ways adapted cultural probes can be used to inform sensitive-HCI research and design spaces. Due to the vast field around designing/researching for sensitive topics, the project proposes the specific subject of romanticism/sexual norms to limit the scope and catch of the research to manage the focus of the project better. A secondary research question will be the prompt of this examination. RQ2: To what extent do romantic and sexual norms/romanticisms affect everyday discourse within society? This secondary research question raises several interesting issues underlying the main research question and its platform to discourse on topics within sensitive areas. The inspiration behind this question comes from philosopher and author Alain De Botton, who makes the argument for the idea that the philosophy of romanticism has “had a devastating impact on the ability of ordinary people to lead successful emotional lives and who instead calls for a post-romantic theory” (De Botton, 2019, pg. 132), that pulls away from a vision of “what is ‘normal’ in love” (De Botton, 2019, pg. 129). Knowledge Contribution The aims of the project is to increase the understanding of the HCI community by exploring and trialling an adaption of cultural probes and the use in researching and identification of design spaces that are within the sensitive topics area by drawing on an interdisciplinary set of practices and methodologies, such as sociology and psychotherapy. Separately, the methods themselves should also function as an engine to drive further exploration and research in this area (sexuality/topics of a sexual nature as called upon by both Bardzell et al. (2011) and Brewer et al. (2006)). Ethical/Privacy Concerns Due to the project focusing on a subject of a particularly sensitive nature by design, it is essential to record the ethical approach applied to data and information provided by the focus group. All data gathered will be unidentifiable as defined by GDPR “to determine whether a natural person is identifiable, account should be taken of all the means reasonably likely to be used, such as singling out, either by the controller or by another person to identify the natural person directly or indirectly ... This Regulation does not therefore concern the processing of such anonymous information, including for statistical or research purposes”. (Recital 26 - Not applicable to anonymous data, 2018). 7 Even though the project covers experimental methodologies intended to create a platform to facilitate and simplify future research within the field, that in itself cannot in any way be taken as suggesting that there is not a noticeable difference between what is right and what is wrong within sexual topics. While attitudes and social nuances towards those rights and wrongs may differ between different societies and social, ethnic, and religious groups, the rule of law continues to apply. As a research project based in Sweden, Swedish law applies in all circumstances, including rape, the age of consent, sexual assault, pornography, grooming, etc.

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