Abstract
Smartphones are a constant companion in everyday life. Interacting with a smartphone calls for a multimodal input and often leads to a multisensory output. Combining research in human-computer interaction (HCI) and psychology, the present research explored the idea that a smartphone is more than a smart object but represents an object to which people feel emotionally attached to and which is even perceived as a part or an extension of a person’s self. To this end, we used an established rubber hand illusion paradigm to experimentally induce body ownership experiences in young adults (n = 76) in a 4-level mixed-design study. Our results revealed that in contrast to a neutral control object participants indeed felt attached to a smartphone, perceived it as a part of themselves and felt the need to interact with the device. This was specifically pronounced when hedonic characteristics were evaluated as high and when its usage for social communication was highlighted during the experiment. Psychological mechanisms of the incorporation of technologies are discussed and connected to positive and negative effects of smartphone usage on human behavior, its implications for technology design and marketing.
Highlights
Since the introduction of the first iPhone on the market in 2007, smartphones have constantly become a bigger part of people’s everyday lives
We hypothesize: Hypothesis 1 (H1): The rubber hand will evoke indicators of a body ownership illusion compared to the neutral control condition
H1 hypothesized that the rubber hand will evoke indicators of a body ownership illusion compared to the neutral control condition
Summary
Since the introduction of the first iPhone on the market in 2007, smartphones have constantly become a bigger part of people’s everyday lives. While combining a multitude of technologies, the smartphone provides various opportunities of interaction to its user. It offers multimodal input via clicking, texting, speaking by merely holding the device, as well as multisensory output such as auditive cues, speech, text, graphics and animations and vibration. Smartphones are used for picture taking, entertainment and relaxation through games, movies or music, as well as information searching. This productive usage is known as process usage [5,6]
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