Neurofeedback training with a low-priced EEG device leads to faster alpha enhancement but shows no effect on cognitive performance: A single-blind, sham-feedback study

Introduction Findings of recent studies indicate that it is possible to enhance cognitive capacities of healthy individuals by means of individual upper alpha neurofeedback training (NFT). Although these results are promising, most of this research was conducted based on high-priced EEG systems developed for clinical and research purposes. This study addresses the question whether such effects can also be shown with an easy to use and comparably low-priced Emotiv Epoc EEG headset available for the average consumer. In addition, critical voices were raised regarding the control group designs of studies addressing the link between neurofeedback training and cognitive performance. Based on an extensive literature review revealing considerable methodological issues in an important part of the existing research, the present study addressed the question whether individual upper alpha neurofeedback has a positive effect on alpha amplitudes (i.e. increases alpha amplitudes) and short-term memory performance focussing on a methodologically sound, single-blinded, sham controlled design. Method Participants (N = 33) took part in four test sessions over four consecutive days of either neurofeedback training (NFT group) or sham feedback (SF group). In the NFT group, five three-minute periods of visual neurofeedback training were administered each day whereas in the SF group (control group), the same amount of sham feedback was presented. Performance on eight digit-span tests as well as participants’ affective states were assessed before and after each of the daily training sessions. Results NFT did not show an effect on individual upper alpha and cognitive performance. While performance increased in both groups over the course of time, this effect could not be explained by changes in individual upper alpha. Additional analyses however revealed that participants in the NFT group showed faster and larger increase in alpha compared to the SF group. Surprisingly, exploratory analyses showed a significant correlation between the initial alpha level and the alpha improvement during the course of the study. This finding suggests that participants with high initial alpha levels benefit more from alpha NFT interventions. In the discussion, the appearance of the alpha enhancement in the SF group and possible reasons for the absence of a connection between NFT and short-term memory are addressed

Visual aesthetics and user experience: a multiple-session experiment

The article reports a longitudinal lab experiment, in which the influence of product aesthetics and inherent product usability was examined over a period of 7 weeks. Using a 2 × 2 × 7 mixed design, visual aesthetics (high vs. low) and usability (high vs. low) were manipulated as between-subjects variables whereas exposure time was used as a repeated-measures variable. One hundred and ten participants took part in the study, during which they carried out typical tasks of operating a fully automated coffee machine. We measured user experience by using the following outcome variables: perceived usability, perceived attractiveness, performance, affect, workload and perceived coffee quality (gustatory aesthetics). We found no effect of visual aesthetics on user experience (including perceived usability as the chief outcome variable), which is in contrast to a considerable number of previous studies. The absence of such an effect might be associated with influencing factors that have not yet been given sufficient attention (e.g., user identification with product, sensory dominance, characteristics of specific products)

What Students Do While You Are Teaching – Computer and Smartphone Use in Class and Its Implication on Learning

The presence of mobile devices (e.g., smartphones, tablets and computers) in the classroom gives students the possibility of doing off-task activities during lectures. The purpose of this mixed-method field study was to learn more about students' behaviors, reasons, and opinions regarding such activities and their consequences on learning. This study is one of few to take a holistic view on this topic by taking the use of all technical devices in class into account and assessing its con-sequences on learning objectively. This is important to gain a full picture concerning the conse-quences of off-task activities in class. Right after a lecture, bachelor students (N = 125) answered a survey containing questions on their usage of mobile devices during this last class. Further-more, they took a test on the content of that lecture. Qualitative and quantitative analysis of data revealed that students spent an average of more than 19% of their time using a digital device for non-class purposes. Interestingly, this was not significantly linked with learning, although many students reported being aware of this behavior's potential negative consequences. But there was a significant negative link between the number of received notifications and learning. These results suggest that external interruptions have a stronger negative effect than internal interruptions, allowing us to make better recommendations on how to use electronic devices in the classroom

The Influence of Product Aesthetics and Usability over the Course of Time: A Longitudinal Field Experiment

A longitudinal field experiment was carried out over a period of two weeks to examine the influence of product aesthetics and inherent product usability. A 2 x 2 x 3 mixed design was used in the study, with product aesthetics (high / low) and usability (high / low) being manipulated as between-subjects variables and exposure time as a repeated-measures variable (3 levels). A sample of 60 mobile phone users was tested during a multiple-session usability test. A range of outcome variables was measured, including performance, perceived usability, perceived aesthetics, and emotion. A major finding was that the positive effect of an aesthetically appealing product on perceived usability, reported in many previous studies, began to wane with increasing exposure time. The data provided similar evidence for emotion, which also showed changes as a function of exposure time. The study has methodological implications for the future design of usability tests, notably suggesting the need for longitudinal approaches in usability research

Governing spillovers of agricultural land use through voluntary sustainability standards: A coverage analysis of sustainability requirements

Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS) are prominent governance instruments that define and verify sustainable agricultural land use at farm and supply chain levels. However, agricultural production can prompt spillover dynamics with implications for sustainability that go beyond these scales, e.g., through runoff of chemical inputs or long-distance migrant worker flows. Scientific evidence on the governance of spillovers through VSS is, however, limited. This study investigates the extent to which VSS regulate a set of 21 environmental and socio-economic spillovers of agricultural land use. To this end, we assessed the spillover coverage in 100 sustainability standards. We find that VSS have a clear tendency to cover environmental spillovers more extensively than socio-economic spillovers. Further, we show how spillover coverage differs across varying types of standard-setting organizations and VSS verification mechanisms. Finally, we discuss the role and limitations that VSS can have in addressing the revealed gaps

Social stress in human-machine systems: opportunities and challenges of an experimental research approach

This article presents some deliberations on methodological approaches to researching the effects of work-related social stress on performance, with particular consideration being given to machine-induced social stress. The article proposes a broad methodological approach to examine such effects. A particular focus is placed on performance after-effects (e.g. unscheduled probe tasks), extra-role behaviour, and task management behaviour because of conventional performance measures (i.e. scheduled tasks) often being unimpaired by social stressors. The role of the ‘performance protection mode’ as an important concept is discussed. A distinction is made between three facets of after-effects: performance-related, behavioural, and emotional. Unscheduled probe tasks and voluntary tasks are proposed to measure performance-related and behavioural after-effects. Propositions for specific experimental scenarios are made, allowing for sufficiently realistic simulations of social stress at work. The availability of such lab-based simulations of work environments offers good opportunities for this line of experimental research, which is expected to gain in importance since highly automated systems may modify the impact of human-induced social stress or may even represent a social stressor themselves. Finally, the considerations presented in this article are not only of relevance to the domain of social stress but to experimental stress research in general

Questionnaire experience and the hybrid System Usability Scale: Using a novel concept to evaluate a new instrument

This article presents the concept of questionnaire experience (QX), intending to add a new element to the psychometric evaluation of questionnaires, which may eventually help increase the validity and reliability of instruments. The application of QX is demonstrated in the development of the Hybrid System Usability Scale (H-SUS), making use of items comprising pictorial and verbal elements to measure perceived usability. The H-SUS was modelled on the verbal version of the System Usability Scale (SUS). Since previous research showed advantages of pictorial scales over verbal scales (e.g., higher respondent motivation) but also disadvantages (e.g., longer completion times), we assumed that hybrid scales would combine the advantages of both scale types. The goal of this study was to compare the two instruments by assessing traditional psychometric criteria (convergent, divergent and criterion-related validity, reliability and sensitivity) and respondent-related aspects of QX (respondent workload, respondent motivation, questionnaire preference, and questionnaire completion time). An online experiment was carried out (N = 152), in which participants interacted with a smartphone prototype and subsequently completed the verbal SUS together with the H-SUS. Results indicate good psychometric properties of the H-SUS. Compared to the SUS, the H-SUS showed similar workload levels for questionnaire completion, higher levels of respondent motivation, but longer questionnaire completion time. Overall, the H-SUS is considered a promising alternative for the evaluation of perceived usability. Finally, QX can be considered a useful concept for identifying potential problems of psychometric instruments in a respondent-centred way, which may help improve the quality of future scales

Human and machine-induced social stress in complex work environments: Effects on performance and subjective state

Social stress at work can lead to severe consequences. As a result of technological developments, social stress will increasingly be induced by machines. It is therefore crucial to understand how machine-induced social stress affects operators. The present study aimed to compare human and machine-induced social stress with regard to its effect on primary and secondary task performance, and on subjective state (e.g., self-esteem, mood and justice). 90 participants worked on a high-fidelity simulation of a complex work environment, on which they had received extensive training (2h15). Social stress was induced by a human or a machine using a combination of negative performance feedback and ostracism. Results indicate that social stress did not affect performance, affect or state self-esteem. Machine-induced and human-induced social stress overall had similar effects, except for the latter impairing perceived justice. We discuss implications of these results for automation at the workplace and outline future research directions

The interplay between task difficulty and microsaccade rate: Evidence for the critical role of visual load

In previous research, microsaccades have been suggested as psychophysiological indicators of task load. So far, it is still under debate how different types of task demands are influencing microsaccade rate. This piece of research examines the relation between visual load, mental load and microsaccade rate. Fourteen participants carried out a continuous performance task (n-back), in which visual (letters vs. abstract figures) and mental task load (1-back to 4-back) were manipulated as within-subjects variables. Eye tracking data, performance data as well as subjective workload were recorded. Data analysis revealed an increased level of microsaccade rate for stimuli of high visual demand (i.e. abstract figures), while mental demand (n-back-level) did not modulate microsaccade rate. In conclusion, the present results suggest that microsaccade rate reflects visual load of a task rather than its mental load

Adapting Haptic Feedback for Guided Meditation

Technology supporting meditation is a multimillion-dollar market that continues to grow. There is also strong academic interest to understand and improve the impact technology can have for the user experience of practitioners. However, little work investigates how to modulate haptic feedback to accommodate individual requirements without using biomarkers. In collaboration with a cognitive neuroscience laboratory, we investigated interactions between users and a haptic meditation device through two design research studies. Preliminary evaluations with 20 participants showed a preference for digital over analog interfaces for parametrization of the haptic meditation device. The final study with 21 participants found that the hedonic and pragmatic preferences depend on both the experience of a user and their age. The work gives new insights into designing interfaces for haptic meditation which allow for parametrization of haptic feedback parameters, as well as a variety of options for the parameterization approach