Website user experience: overall summary assessments and momentary emotion

  • Mahmood Alalawi

Student thesis: Phd

Abstract

Four experiments were conducted to test whether peak-end rule replicates in the web environment. The current enjoyment tool (CET) was developed to capture real-time enjoyment ratings. Experiment 1 mainly tested the effect of the task order- and the tool on retrospective assessments. The results showed that the tool did not influence participants' judgments. Using the number of links to determine task difficulty was not found to be a very effective measure of enjoyment. Experiment 2 further tested the peak-end rule using a free-browsing style. The results showed that peak and end enjoyment moments were relatively low predictors of retrospective assessment, compared with the combination of a wider range of moments. The E2 results also demonstrated that duration did not correlate with either the real-time enjoyment moments or retrospective assessment of enjoyment. Experiment 3 focused on the effect of manipulating the order of selected sections of a website on retrospective assessments of enjoyment. This experiment was performed in two phases, and succeeded in controlling the flow of enjoyment; at least end enjoyment. The results indicated that increasing enjoyment towards the end would result in correspondingly higher retrospective assessment ratings of enjoyment; the converse being the case when decreasing enjoyment towards the end. Peak- and end real-time enjoyment were found to be good predictors of the retrospective assessment of enjoyment. The fourth experiment further investigated this end effect on retrospective assessments. Its design succeeded in manipulating the creation of low, medium and high end real-time enjoyment. The results showed that the high-end group recorded higher enjoyment retrospective assessments than the low-end and medium-end groups. Peak and end real-time enjoyment moments, as well as other real-time enjoyment moments (initial-, average-, and total-) in addition to procedure duration, resulted in a low prediction of retrospective assessment.
Date of Award31 Dec 2012
Original languageEnglish
Awarding Institution
  • The University of Manchester
SupervisorOscar De Bruijn (Supervisor) & Alistair Sutcliffe (Supervisor)

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