To test if MEERABENTEUER.DE is capable to create a positive emotional memory it was important to know what people would easily remember from the front page, since that is the first thing they’ll see in most scenario’s. To be able to test this, a ‘Memory Test’ would provide answers to the question; “What will be remembered after visiting MEERABENTEUER.DE?”.
VII.3.a. What will be remembered?
From the test results (Appendix B) can be concluded that 85%12 remembers the content of the big image on the first page (slider or also called ‘eye-catcher’). That means that the purpose of the ‘eye-catcher’ is effective.
The memory created by the ‘eye-catcher’ is even lasting for a longer period of time. After confronting the people with the website again, this time with a different image in the ‘eye-catcher’, the response was equal (just with different terms) and the question “Isn’t this the website with the diver on it?” was heard a lot.
12 This result is not achieved by the number shown in the test result, since the application that is used not always works how it should and groups answers together that have nothing to do with each other.
33 VII.3.b. The emotional triggers
To test emotions felt by using MEERABENTEUER.DE, it was important to know what people were feeling. There were no good (and in time/financial budget) tools available to measure emotions. One of the solutions could have been to study micro expressions, a long and very difficult process, to be able to tell what emotions people feel when looking and using something.
An other solution, the one that’s been used, was to trust people to describe their emotions themselves. Before the test subject was able to do this in the best way possible it was really important that he or she was feeling comfortable and knew that this test was about MEERABENTEUER.DE and now about the test subject.
From the test results (Appendix C) can be concluded that the emotions triggered by MEERABENTEUER.DE are most often ‘Interest’ and ‘Longing’. This is most likely caused due the general wish to go away on a vacation to a location far away where it’s warm and exotic, exactly the kind of locations the journeys from MEERABENTEUER.DE are going to.
A conclusion per test subject is written below every test result, this was necessary to explain emotions felt per person. Because, as said before, emotions are different for everyone. What is important is that there were only positive emotions displayed when using MEERABENTEUER.DE, and even when using the web application for a longer period (instead of 5 seconds) the positive emotions increased or stayed the same. This means that the emotional memory (if one is created) will not be negative (100% of the test subject had a positive emotion when using MEERABENTEUER.DE).
VII.4. The elements of MEERABENTEUER.DE
MEERABENTEUER.DE contains a lot of different elements which all have a purpose to achieving the goals. Below is a description of the elements, in no specific order, with an explanation why these elements hold such a value for MEERABENTEUER.DE.
Community
Community is one of the key elements of MEERABENTEUER.DE. The community is so important because of the emotional engagement people get from being connected with a brand and ‘fellow travelers’ (see chapter IV.2.).
Images
Images are really important to MEERABENTEUER.DE, as the memory test (see chapter VII.3. and Appendix B) showed, images really tell more than a thousand words. Besides that, images are more easily remembered than words (words are processed by the left half of the brain with a speed of 40 bits per second, images are processed by the right half of the brain with a speed of 11 million bits per second13).
13 A. Jacobs, “Die aufregendste Sprache der Welt.”. AGD-Konferenz, 2011.
34 Music
Music is for a lot of people something that they like to share with their environment, something that they can connect with. People turn on music to change their mood or they listen to music that fits their mood. MEERABENTEUER.DE offers it’s own music. Giving the users something they can connect with and something that will improve the emotional engagement with the web application.
Journeys
The journeys are one of the most important elements of MEERABENTEUER.DE, they’re part of the primary goal. The journeys is what it’s all about, it’s the dream and vision of MEERABENTEUER.DE.
Recipes
Everybody needs food, even if you’re on a journey with MEERABENTEUER.DE people need food. With recipes from culinary delights from all over the planet, MEERABENTEUER.DE connects with it’s users through the stomach. Teaching them to cook delights from far places in their own home.
Travel stories
Stories from fellow travelers create a more personal connection with the users and will increase the emotional engagement the users of the web application have towards MEERABENTEUER.DE.
News
Spreading news about everything that is connected to MEERABENTEUER.DE will result into a more complete platform that is about more than just offering journeys (see secondary goals).
Support
The difference between MEERABENTEUER.DE and traditional travel agencies that offer travels in the same category is the contact with the people. The traditional travel agencies want as less contact as possible, MEERABENTEUER.DE want to be in contact as much as possible and pleasurable. This so MEERABENTEUER.DE can offer the best support possible. This so the connection between MEERABENTEUER.DE and it’s users gets more personal which will lead to more emotionally engaged users.
35
VIII. Conclusions
❦
“I think and think for months and years. Ninety-nine times the conclusion is false.
The hundredth time I am right.”
~ Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955)
Positive, emotional memories are memories with an emotional charge. This charge is caused by emotional events or experiences that refer to that memory. These emotional memories can arise from anywhere, web applications, difficult decisions or small choices made as a kid.
To control the emotional charge of an emotional memory with a web application it is important to know how certain emotions can be triggered and to work this out in a web application. There is no magic formula to create a web application that can make the user emotionally engaged. No certainty can be given that a web application can ever do this. However, it is possible to make it very much likely that this will happen. Though the base structure for a good web application is necessary for this, as described in chapter IV.
Web applications can manipulate emotions and the feelings of it’s users, however it’s not possible to make anybody feel obliged, there is just no magic formula that will get this result because every person is different and therefore will respond different. Though it is possible to make the user of a web application get emotionally engaged with the web application. Because of the emotional engagement the user will feel a certain kind of loyalty towards the web application and will therefore more likely do things the web application asks of him.
1. What makes the mind create a positive, emotional memory?
a. What is a positive, emotional memory in a web application?
A positive, emotional memory is a memory that contains an emotional charge (everywhere, so also in web applications).
b. How can an emotional charge for an emotional memory be controlled?
The emotional charge can be controlled by triggering certain emotions that make the user emotionally engaged with the web application.
2. How can a person be manipulated to feel obliged to do something?
a. What feelings ensure that a person feels obliged to do something?
There are no feelings that can ensure a person will feel obliged to perform a certain action. However it is possible to create an emotional connection with a person that will make it more likely that he will perform an action.
b. How can these feelings be triggered?
An emotional connection can be created by many different techniques such as making the user feel special, giving them a reward, surprise them etc. (see chapter V).
3. How is a person (discreetly) triggered to perform an action?
A person can be triggered to perform an action by establishing an emotional connection with the person and than simply ask them or reward them to do so (see chapter V & VI).
36
References
❦
“The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources.”
~ Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955)
1. “Cultural differences in emotional responses to success and failure”, by M. Lewis, K.
Takai-Kawakami, K. Kawakami & M.W. Sullivan. Published in the International Journal of Behavioral Development, 2010.
6. “Handbook of Emotions: Third Edition”, by M. Lewis (author, editor), J.M. Haviland-Jones (editor) & L. Feldman Barrett (editor). Published in 2008.
7. “Interest - The Curious Emotion”, by P.J. Silvia. Published by the University of North Carolina, 2008.
8. “Not Just Pretty: Building Emotion Into Your Websites”, a blogpost by S. Idler, community manager, information designer and writer at Usabilla, on Smashing Magazine (http://uxdesign.smashingmagazine.com/2012/04/12/building-emotion-into-your-websites/). Published in 2012.
9. “Seven Plus or Minus 2”, J. Farrington. Performance Improvement Quarterly 23 (4):
113-116, 2011.
10. “The Most Frequently Cited Journal Articles and Authors in Introductory Psychology Textbooks”, by D. Gorenflo & J. McConnell. Published in Teaching of Psychology 18:
8-12, 1991.
11. “What are emotions? And how can they be measured?”, by K.R. Scherer. Published in Social Science Information vol. 44 - no 4: 695-729, 2005.
12. “100 Things Every Designer Needs To Know About People”, by S.M. Weinschenk.
Published in 2011.
37
Appendix
❦
“It comes from saying no to 1,000 things to make sure we don’t get on the wrong track or try to do too much.”
~ Steve Jobs (1955 - 2011)
Appendix A: Geneva Emotion Wheel, by K.R. Scherer
38 Appendix B: Test results ‘Memory Test’
The ‘Memory Test’ is based on a screenshot from the first page of MEERABENTEUER.DE (Appendix D).
39 Appendix C: Test results ‘Emotion Test’
Explanation of colors:
Emotions felt after seeing the web application MEERABENTEUER.DE for 5 seconds.
Emotions felt after seeing the web application MEERABENTEUER.DE for longer than 1 minute.
A color in between in used to display a slow, linear change of emotion.
40 Test Subject #1: Sabine Sträter, 46 years old
Bio: Passion for birds and nature, contains a (short) history of traveling to exotic locations.
Conclusion: Subject #1 showed in the beginning immediately a strong feeling of happiness.
Most likely this is due the (positive) emotional memory subject #1 has from her history of traveling. She also showed some longing and interest in the beginning, with a severe increase of interest, and a slighter increase of longing after visiting the website for longer period.
41 Test Subject #2: Axel Sträter, 51 years old
Bio: Extreme fascination for Egypt and technology, a (short) history of traveling to exotic locations.
Conclusion: Subject #2 showed, just as his wife (subject #1), immediately a strong feeling of happiness. In combination with the result from subject #1, it’s safe to assume this is due the (positive) emotional memory subject #1 and subject #2 have from their history of traveling.
Besides the feeling of happiness the feeling of interest grew linear the longer the web application was visited.
42 Test Subject #3: Jörg Helmer, 44 years old
Bio: Works for an international taxi company, very social and spontaneous.
Conclusion: Because subject #3 works for an international taxi company it’s near impossible for him to get free for a whole week. There is a chance that this causes the strong longing feeling, because it’s very difficult for him to go on a MEERABENTEUER.DE journey.
43 Test Subject #4: Manfred Gallus, 53 years old
Bio: Likes nature and cities, and loves to travel. His dream is to on a safari one day.
Conclusion: Immediately a strong feeling of longing and interest were present after the 5 seconds of looking at the web application. This has (most likely) a lot to do with the dream to go on a safari one day. After looking at the web application for a longer period of time, both
emotions just became heavier.
44 Test Subject #5: Julia Müller, 36 years old
Bio: Works in an office and makes a lot of city trips/adventures, not particularly interested in nature, but open for new experiences.
Conclusion: After a few seconds watching there was a strong feeling of happiness and pleasure, most likely due (positive) emotional memories from city trips or other adventures. Also longing and interest are high after a first impression and grows after a longer period of time.
45 Test Subject #6: Saskia Sträter, 18 years old
Bio: Student, interested in nature, travelling around the world and exploring new things everyday.
Conclusion: The first impression gives subject #6 some pleasure and a strong feeling for nostalgia and interest. After a longer period on the web application the longing increase, possibly because she is not able to go (not enough money or school duties) and that makes her even longing more to go on a journey.
46 Appendix D: Screenshot from the first page of MEERABENTEUER.DE