Science on television : how? Like that!

This study explores the presence of science programs on the Flemish public broadcaster between 1997 and 2002 in terms of length, science domains, target groups, production mode, and type of broadcast. Our data show that for nearly all variables 2000 can be marked as a year in which the downward spiral for science on television was reversed. These results serve as a case study to discuss the influence of public policy and other possible motives for changes in science programming, as to gain a clearer insight into the factors that influence whether and how science programs are broadcast on television. Three factors were found to be crucial in this respect: 1) public service philosophy, 2) a strong governmental science policy providing structural government support, and 3) the reflection of a social discourse that articulates a need for more hard sciences

The roles of products in product emotions an explorative study

Although several theoretical frameworks that aim to explain the emotional impact of product design have been introduced in design research literature, none of these frameworks clearly specifies the role of the product in these emotions. This paper reports a study that was designed to explore the variety of roles that products can play in emotional experiences. In a three staged experience sampling study, 29 participants produced 170 records of emotions experienced while interacting with products. Each case was examined in order to identify the antecedent event (the event triggering the emotion) and the mental object (what the emotion is about). The results indicated that several types of events involved in the user-product interaction can elicit an emotional experience: noticing a product; an event occurring during product usage; an entire usage episode; an external agent mentioning the product; and a change in the relationship between a user and a product . It was also found that the resulting emotional responses can be about (can be attributed to) several types of mental objects: a physical object, such as the particular product involved; the user or some other person; the actions of the user or the designer; the antecedent event itself. The results are used to identify and discuss eight distinct roles that products can play in the experience of emotions. In addition, examples are provided to illustrate how these roles can facilitate a structured approach to design for emotion. Keywords: Design and emotion, user-product interaction</p

Positive design

In 2015, a new journal was launched: the Dutch Journal of Positive Psychology. The editor-in-chief invited me to contribute with a regular column that reflects on the question of how design can contribute to the field of positive psychology. I was immediately excited because I saw an opportunity to share some of our students’ inspiring work with a wider audience. Hence, we agreed that the columns would serve to present examples of Positive Design – design cases that focus on human flourishing, by students and researchers of the TU Delft Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering. Over the years, I have witnessed how an increasing number of design students have become inspired by the concept of well-being. These are designers who aspire to consciously and deliberately use their design skills in contributing to the happiness of individuals and communities. Rather than being a fortuitous by-product of design, well-being has firmly anchored itself in the heart of these students’ design intentions. I hope the columns convey some of their irrepressible enthusiasm. This is the second edition of the Positive Design booklet. It presents columns 11 to 19, written between 2018 and 2020. Some of the design cases focus on individuals, others on groups. Some help us to rediscover our talents, some support us in forming meaningful relationships, and others enable us to invest in our own happiness and that of those we care about

Thirteen Fundamental Psychological Needs

Although individuals may have different goals and wishes on the surface, deep down we all want the same things. Our fundamental needs are universal: Regardless of culture, age, and lifestyle, everyone ultimately has the same set of needs. Needs are the basic requirements for our functioning and the nutriments for our well-being and advancement. We can only fully develop and flourish if all our basic needs are satisfied (at least to some degree), and none can be neglected without significant negative consequences. Needs are also a strong direct source of meaning and pleasure (and displeasure): events and activities that fulfil our needs are both meaningful and pleasurable. Needs and design If one thing can be said about design, it is that its relevance to the individual and to humanity at large—its purpose, meaning, success or failure—depends on the extent to which it satisfies people’s needs. Needs are the fundament of our motivation system, and all human activity is essentially fueled by the aspiration of need fulfilment. Products, systems, buildings, technology, and all other ‘artificial’ phenomena envisioned and built by people are essentially instruments for need satisfaction. 13 fundamental needs This booklet provides a typology of 13 fundamental psychological needs developed by Desmet and Fokkinga (2020). Each page shows a need and four corresponding sub-needs. These sub-needs illustrate the range and scope of the fundamental needs. Even though they are themselves not fundamental, they still represent relatively universal and general concepts. The (sub-) needs can, in turn, take shape as and through goals and desires that are specific to particular individuals and/or situations. You can use the overview as a source of design inspiration or, if you like, as a means to explore your personal happiness

Is Compensation Fine?:Sanction Schemes and their Effects on Deterrence and Trust

Both fine and compensation payments are commonly used to sanction misbehaviour. Interestingly, they are typically not consistently applied across different jurisdictions and their comparative strengths and weaknesses are empirically not yet well established and understood. Our experiment allows us to, on the one hand, contrast the compliance-inducing effects of fines and compensation on potential infringers. On the other hand, it enables usto examine their respective capabilities to maintain or restore potential victims’ trust. We find that fines induce more compliance than compensation. This is, however, only partly reflected in potential victim’s trust. It appears that the higher levels of trust we observe in the fine regime are not necessarily a consequence of the sanction scheme itself, but rather because individuals experience less misbehaviour in that regime

Is Compensation Fine?:Sanction Schemes and their Effects on Deterrence and Trust

Both fine and compensation payments are commonly used to sanction misbehaviour. Interestingly, they are typically not consistently applied across different jurisdictions and their comparative strengths and weaknesses are empirically not yet well established and understood. Our experiment allows us to, on the one hand, contrast the compliance-inducing effects of fines and compensation on potential infringers. On the other hand, it enables usto examine their respective capabilities to maintain or restore potential victims’ trust. We find that fines induce more compliance than compensation. This is, however, only partly reflected in potential victim’s trust. It appears that the higher levels of trust we observe in the fine regime are not necessarily a consequence of the sanction scheme itself, but rather because individuals experience less misbehaviour in that regime

In Money we Trust? Trust Repair and the Psychology of Financial Compensations

Despite the importance of trust in economic relations, people often engage in behavior that may violate their interaction partner’s trust. Given that transgressions in economic relations often result in distributive harm for the victim (i.e. loss of economic resources), a common approach in these relations consists of the transgressor providing a financial compensation to the victim: if a customer has complaints about a product, he is reimbursed; when a company is being sued, it often tries to make a financial settlement with the victims. Strangely enough, the high prevalence of financial compensations as a restorative response contrasts sharply with how little is known about their effectiveness. Can financial compensations actually increase trust again and what are the factors that determine their effectiveness? By taking an experimental approach, this dissertation aims to provide some first, much needed empirical answers regarding the effectiveness of financial compensations in restoring trust. In this venture, it was not only studied how aspects of the compensation itself (e.g. size) determine their effectiveness, but also how specific characteristics of the violation, the victim and the transgressor impact victims’ reactions to a compensation. The findings of this dissertation show that even in economic relations, where violations have a clear, quantifiable distributive harm, the process of trust repair is not simply determined by the material, financial value of a compensation. Rather, this dissertation reveals how immaterial aspects such as intent in the violation, whether a compensation was imposed or voluntarily provided or whether or not an apology accompanied the compensation, are all crucial in determining the actual value that victims attach to a financial compensation