Discomfort: a new material for interaction design

Abstract

We present discomfort as a new material for HCI researchers and designers to consider in applications that help a person develop a new skill, practice, or state. In this context, discomfort is a fundamental precursor to a necessary adaptation which leads to the development of a new skill, practice, or state. The way in which discomfort is perceived, and when it is experienced, is often part of a rationale for rejecting or adopting a practice. Factors that influence the choice to accept or reject a practice of discomfort create opportunities for designing interactions that facilitate discomfort. Enabling effective engagement with discomfort may therefore open opportunities for increased personal development. We propose incorporating discomfort-as-material into our designs explicitly as a mechanism to make desired adaptations available to more of us, more effectively, and more of the time. To explore this possibility, we offer an overview of the physiology and neurology of discomfort in adaptation and propose three issues related to incorporating discomfort into design: preparation for discomfort, need for recovery, and value of the practice.