Abstract
Practices such as mindfulness, introspection, and self-reflection are known to have positive short and long-term effects on health and well-being. However, in today's modern, fast-paced, technological world tempted by distractions these practices are often hard to access and relate to a broader audience. Consequently, technologies have emerged that mediate personal experiences, which is reflected in the high number of available applications designed to elicit positive changes. These technologies elicit positive changes by bringing users' attention to the self—from technologies that show representation of quantified personal data, to technologies that provide experiences that guide the user closer in understanding the self. However, while many designs available today are either built to support or are informed by these aforementioned practices, the question remains: how can we most effectively employ different design elements and interaction strategies to support positive change? Moreover, what types of input and output modalities contribute to eliciting positive states? To address these questions, we present here a state of the art scoping review of immersive interactive technologies that serve in a role of a mediator for positive change in users. We performed a literature search using ACM Digital Library, Web of Science, IEEE Xplore, and Design and Applied Arts Index (beginning of literature—January 1, 2018). We retrieved English-language articles for review, and we searched for published and unpublished studies. Risk of bias was assessed with Downs and Black 26-item QAT scale. We included 34 articles as relevant to the literature, and the analysis of the articles resulted in 38 instances of 33 immersive, interactive experiences relating to positive human functioning. Our contribution is three-fold: First we provide a scoping review of immersive interactive technologies for positive change; Second, we propose both a framework for future designs of positive interactive technologies and design consideration informed by the comparative analysis of the designs; Third, we provide design considerations for immersive, interactive technologies to elicit positive states and support positive change.
Highlights
Technology is becoming increasingly more prevalent in our everyday lives
In addition to the themes listed and discussed above, which might be useful as descriptive tools for researchers, we present a set of prescriptive design considerations to serve as tools for designers and developers interested in creating immersive, interactive systems, and experiences with the goal of eliciting positive states and supporting positive change
Several studies we reviewed found that using nature elements in the virtual environment (N = 15), taking minimalist approach (N = 7), and adopting a child-like play concept for interaction design (N = 16) all contributed to positive states or positive change in users—see results section for details on the specific studies
Summary
For all the new hardware and gadgets available, we have only recently seen an increased interest in designers, developers, and researchers deliberately thinking about how these technologies might be used to improve our lives and increase our well-being (Bowman and McMahan, 2007; Roo et al, 2016; Valmaggia et al, 2016; Gaggioli et al, 2017). There does appear to be a rise in interest in using technology for positive human functioning and wellbeing across many different domains. This diversified interest seems to imply promise for future applications of technology for improving positive experiences and health. Approaches to technology that supports positive human functioning and well-being appear to be seeded from three different domains: Psychology, HCI, and Computer Science. We will briefly discuss the history of these approaches, we recognize that this may not be an exhaustive list because of the highly multidisciplinary nature of this research area
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
