Impression formation in the information age : a study and design for online dating

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, 2005.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 107-113).43% of American adults are single and many are looking for new social and romantic connections. At the same time, the Internet offers services to both research and contact other individuals. As a result, proactive computer savvy singles are logging on to find romantic partners. While the online dating industry advertises its success citing the large number of registered users, other evidence indicates broad dissatisfaction: the analysis of website behavior reveals that most users are inactive and experienced online daters state a preference for dating offline versus on. To account for this dissatisfaction, I locate decision-point failures. To improve the process, I propose and test an alternate model. Part 1 shows that acquiring more information - one of the perceived benefits of meeting online and reading profiles - can have negative effects, such as leading to less liking over time, while failing to make people really believe they know others better. The expectation that getting to know others more will lead to more liking, coupled with the fact that more information leads to less liking, means that online daters are frequently disappointed, causing them to leave dating sites, and to continue to prefer offline dating despite its drawbacks.(cont.) Part 2 focuses on interventions to improve the online dating experience, making it more similar to life offline through the introduction of "virtual dates" where people "pre-meet" online before they meet face-to-face. In particular, these interventions are targeted at mitigating the overly positive expectations online daters who only read profiles have, bringing expectations for dates more in line with reality, leading to less disappointment- and possibly increased likelihood of finding a match.by Jena H. Frost.Ph.D

Imagery as data for changing personal practice

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, 2001.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 60-63).This thesis is about diabetics and their theories about their health practices. Daily decisions, such as eating and exercise habits, have clear consequences for a diabetic's health, yet many of them fail to change their behavior patterns despite knowing facts about the disease. I assumed that they might change their practices if the relationship between their actions and their blood glucose levels was made explicit. To do this, I introduced photography into diabetes diagnosis, asking people to collect images of their daily activities to complement their glucose monitoring. By combining quantitative glucose measurements with qualitative portraits of action, I hoped to make the relationship between physiology and behavior an object for discussion and reflection. More so, I hoped that diabetics who viewed these data would begin to develop new interpretations of their lifestyles that would ultimately lead to healthier activities. I will discuss studies conducted in diabetes education courses and a set of visualization tools that I designed to help people see correlations between glucose data and photographs of activity. The results of these studies suggest that photographing activities may have the potential to change the ways that diabetics understand and deal with their health.Jeana Frost.S.M

Evaluation of a Smart Fork to Decelerate Eating Rate.

Overweight is associated with a range of negative health consequences, such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, gastrointestinal disorders, and premature mortality.1 One means to combat overweight is through encouraging people to eat more slowly.2 People who eat quickly tend to consume more3, 4 and 5 and have a higher body mass index,6, 7, 8 and 9 whereas people who eat more slowly feel sated earlier and eat less.10, 11, 12 and 13. Unfortunately, eating rate is difficult to modify, because of its highly automatic nature.14 In clinical settings, researchers have had some success changing behavior by using devices that deliver feedback in real time.15, 16 and 17 However, existing technologies are either too cumbersome18 or not engaging enough19 for use in daily life contexts. Training people to eat more slowly in everyday eating contexts, therefore, requires creative and engaging solutions. This article presents a qualitative evaluation of the feasibility of a smart fork to decelerate eating rate in daily life contexts. Furthermore, we outline the planned research to test the efficacy of this device in both laboratory and community settings<br/

The effect of real-time vibrotactile feedback delivered through an augmented fork on eating rate, satiation, and food intake.

Eating rate is a basic determinant of appetite regulation, as people who eat more slowly feel sated earlier and eat less. Without assistance, eating rate is difficult to modify due to its automatic nature. In the current study, participants used an augmented fork that aimed to decelerate their rate of eating. A total of 114 participants were randomly assigned to the Feedback Condition (FC), in which they received vibrotactile feedback from their fork when eating too fast (i.e., taking more than one bite per 10 s), or a Non-Feedback Condition (NFC). Participants in the FC took fewer bites per minute than did those in the NFC. Participants in the FC also had a higher success ratio, indicating that they had significantly more bites outside the designated time interval of 10 s than did participants in the NFC. A slower eating rate, however, did not lead to a significant reduction in the amount of food consumed or level of satiation. These findings indicate that real-time vibrotactile feedback delivered through an augmented fork is capable of reducing eating rate, but there is no evidence from this study that this reduction in eating rate is translated into an increase in satiation or reduction in food consumption. Overall, this study shows that real-time vibrotactile feedback may be a viable tool in interventions that aim to reduce eating rate. The long-term effectiveness of this form of feedback on satiation and food consumption, however, awaits further investigation

Effects of eating with an augmented fork with vibrotactile feedback on eating rate and body weight: a randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND: Eating rate is a basic determinant of appetite regulation: people who eat more slowly feel sated earlier and eat less. A high eating rate contributes to overeating and potentially to weight gain. Previous studies showed that an augmented fork that delivers real-time feedback on eating rate is a potentially effective intervention to decrease eating rate in naturalistic settings. This study assessed the impact of using the augmented fork during a 15-week period on eating rate and body weight. METHODS: In a parallel randomized controlled trial, 141 participants with overweight (age: 49.2 ± 12.3 y; BMI: 31.5 ± 4.48 kg/m2) were randomized to intervention groups (VFC, n = 51 or VFC+, n = 44) or control group (NFC, n = 46). First, we measured bite rate and success ratio on five consecutive days with the augmented fork without feedback (T1). The intervention groups (VFC, VFC+) then used the same fork, but now received vibrotactile feedback when they ate more than one bite per 10 s. Participants in VFC+ had additional access to a web portal with visual feedback. In the control group (NFC), participants ate with the fork without either feedback. The intervention period lasted four weeks, followed by a week of measurements only (T2) and another measurement week after eight weeks (T3). Body weight was assessed at T1, T2, and T3. RESULTS: Participants in VFC and VFC+ had a lower bite rate (p < .01) and higher success ratio (p < .0001) than those in NFC at T2. This effect persisted at T3. In both intervention groups participants lost more weight than those in the control group at T2 (p < .02), with no rebound at T3. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study indicate that an augmented fork with vibrotactile feedback is a viable tool to reduce eating rate in naturalistic settings. Further investigation may confirm that the augmented fork could support long-term weight loss strategies. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The research reported in this manuscript was registered on 4 November 2015 in the Netherlands Trial Register with number NL5432 ( https://www.trialregister.nl/trial/5432 ).</p

Effects of eating with an augmented fork with vibrotactile feedback on eating rate and body weight: a randomized controlled trial

Background Eating rate is a basic determinant of appetite regulation: people who eat more slowly feel sated earlier and eat less. A high eating rate contributes to overeating and potentially to weight gain. Previous studies showed that an augmented fork that delivers real-time feedback on eating rate is a potentially effective intervention to decrease eating rate in naturalistic settings. This study assessed the impact of using the augmented fork during a 15-week period on eating rate and body weight. Methods In a parallel randomized controlled trial, 141 participants with overweight (age: 49.2 +/- 12.3 y; BMI: 31.5 +/- 4.48 kg/m2) were randomized to intervention groups (VFC, n = 51 or VFC+, n = 44) or control group (NFC, n = 46). First, we measured bite rate and success ratio on five consecutive days with the augmented fork without feedback (T1). The intervention groups (VFC, VFC+) then used the same fork, but now received vibrotactile feedback when they ate more than one bite per 10 s. Participants in VFC+ had additional access to a web portal with visual feedback. In the control group (NFC), participants ate with the fork without either feedback. The intervention period lasted four weeks, followed by a week of measurements only (T2) and another measurement week after eight weeks (T3). Body weight was assessed at T1, T2, and T3. Results Participants in VFC and VFC+ had a lower bite rate (p <.01) and higher success ratio (p <.0001) than those in NFC at T2. This effect persisted at T3. In both intervention groups participants lost more weight than those in the control group at T2 (p <.02), with no rebound at T3. Conclusions The findings of this study indicate that an augmented fork with vibrotactile feedback is a viable tool to reduce eating rate in naturalistic settings. Further investigation may confirm that the augmented fork could support long-term weight loss strategies