Integrating Theories of Mind with Tangible and Embedded Interaction Design

Abstract

Theories of how the human mind works have inspired but also constrained negatively and positively - interaction design. Today's interfaces can potentially take any (physical and digital) form. Therefore, there is a need to prevent users from learning necessities for every single interface. To address the issue, interaction designers increasingly constrain their design decisions based on their conceptions of users' capacities and skills that already exist and are based on prior interactions with the real world. These skills, such as hand-eye coordination, are essential for tangible interfaces, and directly relate to cognition. In this one-day workshop, we will discuss the role of theories of mind in contemporary human-computer interaction research, as those might provide us with a substantial understanding of cognition and human skills. The focus will be on embodied and situated theories and possible consequences of adopting an embodied and situated perspective on the design and analysis of tangible and embedded interaction.