Comparison of in-situ mood input methods on mobile devices
Torben Wallbaum, Wilko Heuten, Susanne Boll · 2016
The exchange of daily moods is an important part of interpersonal communication over a distance. Mobile devices offer a platform for sharing on the go, and keeping in touch regularly. However, it is still a challenge to design an input for mood, such that the sharing easily integrates into the daily life and is engaging for a longer time. To design an input, which overcomes these challenges, we explore the use of four different methods for expressing mood on mobile devices, drawn from previous work in psychology. We aim to verify the usefulness of these methods and want to investigate this by conducting a comparative study of these four input methods, regarding the following factors: intuitiveness, inconvenience, speed of input, everyday use, expressiveness and overall suitability. Results show that use of photographs and emotion terms are suitable to describe the many facets of moods for most participants. Most of the participants prefer personalized input methods as well as combined methods. We discuss the outcomes with regard to the implications on future designs of messenger applications.