Novel consumer neurotechnologies allow users to track their cognitive states and processes, such as attention and mental workload (MWL). However, data on these inherently complex, abstract, and invisible cognitive processes can be challenging to interpret, and little is known about how users make sense of their data. In this work, we explore how people understand and reflect on MWL through six semi-structured interviews and a follow-up experience sampling study. We examine how people conceptualize MWL, distinguish it from related concepts such as stress, what they consider high and low workload in their daily lives, and how they connect workload to emotional states. We discuss these user perceptions and identify barriers to MWL self-tracking, such as lack of trust in the data and ambiguity of the MWL concept, and propose five design guidelines to make cognitive tracking tools more intelligible and meaningful for users.

Knowledge workers often struggle to evaluate their productivity and sense of accomplishment due to the intangible nature of their work. They rely on internal cues and personal metrics such as focus, effort, or goal completion. Traditional productivity tools overlook these dimensions, creating a gap between effort and perceived performance. This study examines how neurofeedback influences perceptions of self-accomplishment, focus, and task performance. We conducted a study in which N=20 participants completed reading and writing tasks while wearing a commercial EEG headband. Each participant completed one task with live neurofeedback and another with feedback shown afterward. While neurofeedback did not change how participants defined self-accomplishment, it encouraged reflection and awareness of cognitive effort. Some found the feedback validating, while others felt pressure or questioned its accuracy. Our findings suggest that neurofeedback can aid self-reflection in knowledge work when it is unobtrusive, ensures data comprehensibility, and supports users' existing self-evaluation strategies.

People are increasingly eager to know more about themselves through technology. To date, technology has primarily provided information on our physiology. Yet, with advances in wearable technology and artificial intelligence, the current advent of consumer neurotechnology will enable users to measure their cognitive activity. We see an opportunity for research in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) in the development of these devices. Neurotechnology offers new insights into user experiences and facilitates the development of novel methods in HCI. Researchers will be able to create innovative interactive systems based on the ability to measure cognitive activity at scale in real-world settings. In this paper, we contribute a vision of how neurotechnology will transform HCI research and practice. We discuss how neurotechnology prompts a discussion about ethics, privacy, and trust. This trend highlights HCI’s crucial role in ensuring that neurotechnology is developed and utilised in ways that truly benefit people.

When booking accommodations such as hotel rooms or vacation houses online, users heavily rely on the experiences of prior customers through reviews. However, such reviews are often short or lacking important details since most UIs limit users to text-only input, making review creation laborious and time-consuming. The quality of the review can therefore vary, depending on the skill and intrinsic motivation of the reviewer. Instead of relying on these two variables, we explore the effects of a tag enriched UI, both for creating and presenting review information. In the process, we evaluate tags – short descriptive text snippets such as “centrally located” – as additional input components to open text fields and rating scales. These tags aim to trigger users’ memory of details and experiences and support them in creating comprehensive reviews without having to generate long texts. In an initial user study, we asked participants to generate reviews with and without the tag support. In a second user study, they evaluated reviews created with and without tags. Our results show that tags were perceived as helpful in creating reviews and increased the level of detail in the experiences reported. We discuss the implications of review quality, helpfulness, and potential limitations.

Frequent repetition of vocabulary is essential for effective language learning. To increase exposure to learning content, this work explores the integration of vocabulary tasks into the smartphone authentication process. We present the design and initial user experience evaluation of twelve prototypes, which explored three learning tasks and four common authentication types. In a three-week within-subject field study, we compared the most promising concept as mobile language learning (MLL) applications to two baselines: We designed a novel (1) UnlockApp that presents a vocabulary task with each authentication event, nudging users towards short frequent learning session. We compare it with a (2) NotificationApp that displays vocabulary tasks in a push notification in the status bar, which is always visible but learning needs to be user-initiated, and a (3) StandardApp that requires users to start in-app learning actively. Our study is the first to directly compare these embedding concepts for MLL, showing that integrating vocabulary learning into everyday smartphone interactions via UnlockApp and NotificationApp increases the number of answers. However, users show individual subjective preferences. Based on our results, we discuss the trade-off between higher content exposure and disturbance, and the related challenges and opportunities of embedding learning seamlessly into everyday mobile interactions.