Human–computer interaction: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Academic discipline studying the relationship between computer systems and their usersnone}}

{{More citations needed|date=December 2022}}

[[File:ComputerGolden monitorratio screenlogo imagedesign simulatedtechnique.jpg|alt=A close-up photograph of a computer monitor.|thumb|A computer monitor provides a visual interface between the machine and the user.]]

'''Human–computer interaction''' ('''HCI''') is researchthe process through which people operate and engage with [[computer]] systems. <ref>{{Cite web |last=Rapp |first=Amon |date=2023-05-24 |title=Human–Computer Interaction |url=https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190236557.013.47 |url-status=live |access-date=31 July 2025 |website=Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Psychology |publisher=Oxford University Press}}</ref>Research in HCI covers the design and the use of [[Computing|computer technology]], which focuses on the [[Interface (computing)|interface]]sinterfaces between people ([[user (computing)|users]]) and [[computer]]scomputers. HCI researchers observe the ways humans interact with computers and design technologies that allow humans to interact with computers in novel ways.<ref>{{Cite Abook device|last=Helander that|first=M. allowsG. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6vnSAwAAQBAJ&dq=what+is+human+computer+interaction&pg=PP1 between|title=Handbook humanof beingHuman-Computer Interaction |date=2014-06-28 |publisher=Elsevier |isbn=978-1-4832-9513-8 |language=en}}</ref> These include visual, auditory, and atactile computer(haptic) isfeedback knownsystems, which serve as achannels "'''human–computerfor interface'''"interaction in both traditional interfaces and mobile computing contexts.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hampton |first1=W. H. |title=Haptic Rewards: How Mobile Vibrations Shape Reward Response and Consumer Choice |journal=Journal of Consumer Research |year=2025 |doi=10.1093/jcr/ucaf025 |url=https://doi.org/10.1093/jcr/ucaf025 }}</ref>

A device that allows interaction between human being and a computer is known as a "'''human–computer interface'''".

As a field of research, human–computer interaction is situated at the intersection of [[computer science]], [[behaviouralBehavioural sciences|behavioral sciences]], [[design]], [[media studies]], and [[Outline of human–computer interaction#Related fields|several other fields of study]]. The term was popularized by [[Stuart K. Card]], [[Allen Newell]], and [[Thomas P. Moran]] in their 1983 book, ''The Psychology of Human–Computer Interaction.'' The first known use was in 1975 by Carlisle.<ref name="Evaluating the impact of office automation on top management communication"/> The term is intended to convey that, unlike other tools with specific and limited uses, computers have many uses which often involve an open-ended dialogue between the user and the computer. The notion of dialogue likens human–computer interaction to human-to-human interaction: an analogy that is crucial to theoretical considerations in the field.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Suchman|first1=Lucy|title=Plans and Situated Action. The Problem of Human-Machine Communication|date=1987|publisher=Cambridge University Press|___location=New York, Cambridge|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AJ_eBJtHxmsC&q=suchman+situated+action&pg=PR7|access-date=7 March 2015|isbn=9780521337397}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{cite book|last1=Dourish|first1=Paul|title=Where the Action Is: The Foundations of Embodied Interaction|date=2001|publisher=MIT Press|___location=Cambridge, MA|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DCIy2zxrCqcC&q=Dourish+where+the+action+is&pg=PR7|isbn=9780262541787}}</ref>

==Introduction==

{{More citations needed section|date=May 2021}}

Humans interact with computers in many ways, and the interface between the two is crucial to facilitating this interaction. HCI is also sometimes termed ''human–machine interaction'' (HMI), ''man-machine interaction'' (MMI) or ''computer-human interaction'' (CHI). Desktop applications, web browsers, handheld computers, and computer kiosks make use of the prevalent [[graphical user interface]]s (GUI) of today.<ref name="ACM SIGCHI">{{cite web|last1=Hewett|last2=Baecker|last3=Card|last4=Carey|last5=Gasen|last6=Mantei|last7=Perlman|last8=Strong|last9=Verplank|title=ACM SIGCHI Curricula for Human–Computer Interaction|url=http://old.sigchi.org/cdg/cdg2.html#2_1|publisher=ACM SIGCHI|access-date=15 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140817165957/http://old.sigchi.org/cdg/cdg2.html#2_1|archive-date=17 August 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Voice user interface]]s (VUIs) are used for [[speech recognition]] and synthesizing systems, and the emerging [[multimodal interaction|multi-modal]] and Graphical user interfaces (GUI) allow humans to engage with [[Embodied agent|embodied character agents]] in a way that cannot be achieved with other interface paradigms.

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Due to the multidisciplinary nature of HCI, people with different backgrounds contribute to its success.

Poorly designed [[human-machine interface]]s can lead to many unexpected problems. A classic example is the [[Three Mile Island accident]], a nuclear meltdown accident, where investigations concluded that the design of the human-machine interface was at least partly responsible for the disaster.<ref name="What is Cognitive Ergonomics?" /><ref name="NRC: Backgrounder on the Three Mile Island Accident" /><ref name="three mile island" /> Similarly, some accidents in aviation have resulted from manufacturers' decisions to use non-standard [[Flight instruments#Layout|flight instruments]] or throttle quadrant layouts: even though the new designs were proposed to be superior in basic human-machine interaction, pilots had already ingrained the "standard" layout. Thus, the conceptually good idea had unintended results.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1994-05-02 |title=Bonanza Safety Review |url=https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/1994/february/pilot/bonanza-safety-review |access-date=2025-05-12 |website=www.aopa.org |language=en}}</ref>

==Human–computer interface==

{{main|User interface}}

{{Unreferenced section|date=May 2021}}

A human–computer interface can be described as the interface of communication between a human user and a computer.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hartson |first1=H. Rex |last2=Hix |first2=Deborah |date=1989-03-01 |title=Human-computer interface development: concepts and systems for its management |url=https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/62029.62031 |journal=ACM Comput. Surv. |volume=21 |issue=1 |pages=5–92 |doi=10.1145/62029.62031 |issn=0360-0300}}</ref> The flow of information between the human and computer is defined as the ''loop of interaction''.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Costa |first1=Pedro Maurício |last2=Galvão |first2=Teresa |last3=Falcão e Cunha |first3=João |last4=Pitt |first4=Jeremy |chapter=How to support the design and development of interactive pervasive environments |date=June 2015 |title=2015 8th International Conference on Human System Interaction (HSI) |pages=278–284 |doi=10.1109/HSI.2015.7170680|isbn=978-1-4673-6936-7 }}</ref> The loop of interaction has several aspects to it, including:

* '''Visual based''': The visual-based human–computer interaction is probably the most widespread human–computer interaction (HCI) research area.

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* [[Principles of user interface design|Principles of UI design]]: these standards may be considered during the [[User interface design|design of a client interface]]: resistance, effortlessness, permeability, affordance, consistency, structure, and feedback.<ref name="mit"/>

* [[Value sensitive design]] (VSD): a technique for building innovation that accounts for the individuals who utilize the design straightforwardly, and just as well for those who the design influences, either directly or indirectly. VSD utilizes an iterative planning process that includes three kinds of examinations: theoretical, exact, and specialized. Applied examinations target the understanding and articulation of the different parts of the design, and its qualities or any clashes that may emerge for the users of the design. Exact examinations are subjective or quantitative plans to explore things used to advise the creators' understanding regarding the clients' qualities, needs, and practices. Specialized examinations can include either investigation of how individuals use related advances or the framework plans.<ref name="value sensitive design"/>

==Display designs==

Displays are human-made artifacts designed to support the perception of relevant system variables and facilitate further processing of that information. Before a display is designed, the task that the display is intended to support must be defined (e.g., navigating, controlling, decision making, learning, entertaining, etc.). A user or operator must be able to process whatever information a system generates and displays; therefore, the information must be displayed according to principles to support perception, situation awareness, and understanding.

===Thirteen principles of display design===

Christopher Wickens et al. defined 13 principles of display design in their book ''An Introduction to Human Factors Engineering''.<ref name="introduction"/>

These human perception and information processing principles can be utilized to create an effective display design. A reduction in errors, a reduction in required training time, an increase in efficiency, and an increase in user satisfaction are a few of the many potential benefits that can be achieved by utilizing these principles.

Certain principles may not apply to different displays or situations. Some principles may also appear to be conflicting, and there is no simple solution to say that one principle is more important than another. The principles may be tailored to a specific design or situation. Striking a functional balance among the principles is critical for an effective design.<ref name="guidelines"/>

====Perceptual principles====

{{Unreferenced section|date=May 2021}}

''1.Make displays legible (or audible)''. A display's legibility is critical and necessary for designing a usable display. If the characters or objects being displayed cannot be discernible, the operator cannot effectively use them.

''2.Avoid absolute judgment limits''. Do not ask the user to determine the level of a variable based on a single sensory variable (e.g., color, size, loudness). These sensory variables can contain many possible levels.

''3.Top-down processing''. Signals are likely perceived and interpreted by what is expected based on a user's experience. If a signal is presented contrary to the user's expectation, more physical evidence of that signal may need to be presented to assure that it is understood correctly.

''4.Redundancy gain''. If a signal is presented more than once, it is more likely to be understood correctly. This can be done by presenting the signal in alternative physical forms (e.g., color and shape, voice and print, etc.), as redundancy does not imply repetition. A traffic light is a good example of redundancy, as color and position are redundant.

''5.Similarity causes confusion: Use distinguishable elements''. Signals that appear to be similar will likely be confused. The ratio of similar features to different features causes signals to be similar. For example, A423B9 is more similar to A423B8 than 92 is to 93. Unnecessarily similar features should be removed, and dissimilar features should be highlighted.

====Mental model principles====

{{Unreferenced section|date=May 2021}}

''6. Principle of pictorial realism''. A display should look like the variable that it represents (e.g., the high temperature on a thermometer shown as a higher vertical level). If there are multiple elements, they can be configured in a manner that looks like they would in the represented environment.

''7. Principle of the moving part''. Moving elements should move in a pattern and direction compatible with the user's mental model of how it actually moves in the system. For example, the moving element on an altimeter should move upward with increasing altitude.

====Principles based on attention====

''8. Minimizing [[information access]] cost'' or [[interaction cost]]. When the user's attention is diverted from one ___location to another to access necessary information, there is an associated cost in time or effort. A display design should minimize this cost by allowing frequently accessed sources to be located at the nearest possible position. However, adequate legibility should not be sacrificed to reduce this cost.

''9. Proximity compatibility principle''. Divided attention between two information sources may be necessary for the completion of one task. These sources must be mentally integrated and are defined to have close mental proximity. Information access costs should be low, which can be achieved in many ways (e.g., proximity, linkage by common colors, patterns, shapes, etc.). However, close display proximity can be harmful by causing too much clutter.

''10. Principle of multiple resources''. A user can more easily process information across different resources. For example, visual and auditory information can be presented simultaneously rather than presenting all visual or all auditory information.

====Memory principles====

{{Unreferenced section|date=May 2021}}

''11. Replace memory with visual information: knowledge in the world''. A user should not need to retain important information solely in working memory or retrieve it from long-term memory. A menu, checklist, or another display can aid the user by easing the use of their memory. However, memory use may sometimes benefit the user by eliminating the need to reference some knowledge globally (e.g., an expert computer operator would rather use direct commands from memory than refer to a manual). The use of knowledge in a user's head and knowledge in the world must be balanced for an effective design.

''12. Principle of predictive aiding''. Proactive actions are usually more effective than reactive actions. A display should eliminate resource-demanding cognitive tasks and replace them with simpler perceptual tasks to reduce the user's mental resources. This will allow the user to focus on current conditions and to consider possible future conditions. An example of a predictive aid is a road sign displaying the distance to a certain destination.

''13. Principle of consistency''. Old habits from other displays will easily transfer to support the processing of new displays if they are designed consistently. A user's long-term memory will trigger actions that are expected to be appropriate. A design must accept this fact and utilize consistency among different displays.

==Current research==

{{More citations needed section|date=October 2010}}

Topics in human–computer interaction include the following''':'''

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===Mixed reality (MR)===

{{main|Mixed reality}}

Mixed reality (MR) blends elements of both augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR). It enables real-time interaction with both physical and digital objects. HCI research in MR concentrates on spatial computing, real-world object interaction, and context-aware adaptive interfaces.<ref name=milgram1999>{{citeCite journal book|last1=Milgram |first1=Paul |editor-first1last2=HariTakemura |editor-last1first2=DasHaruo |chapterlast3=Utsumi |first3=Akira |last4=Kishino |first4=Fumio |date=1995 |title=Augmented reality: Aa class of displays on the reality-virtuality continuum |dateurl=1995https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228537162 |title=Telemanipulator and Telepresence Technologies|journal=SPIE Proceedings on Telemanipulator and Telepresence Technologies |volume=2351 |pagespage=282–292282 |doi=10.1117/12.197321|bibcode=1995SPIE.2351..282M }}</ref> MR technologies are increasingly applied in education, training simulations, and healthcare, enhancing learning outcomes and user engagement.<ref name=speiginer2015>{{cite journal|last1=Speiginer|first1=Grant|title=Mixed reality in education: A review of current and future trends|journal=Educational Technology Research & Development|year=2015|volume=63|issue=6|pages=855–873|doi=10.1007/s11423-015-9381-7|doi-broken-date=141 AprilJuly 2025 }}</ref>

===Extended reality (XR)===

{{main|Extended reality}}

Extended reality (XR) is an umbrella term encompassing AR, VR, and MR, offering a continuum between real and virtual environments. Research investigates user adaptability, interaction paradigms, and ethical implications of immersive technologies.<ref name=milgram1994>{{cite journal|last1=Milgram|first1=Paul|title=A Taxonomy of Mixed Reality Visual Displays|journal=IEICE Transactions on Information and Systems|year=1994|volume=77|issue=12|pages=1321–1329}}</ref> Recent studies highlight how AI-driven personalization and adaptive interfaces improve the usability of XR applications.<ref name=buhalis2022>{{cite journal|last1=Buhalis|first1=Dimitrios|last2=Karatay|first2=Natali|title=Extended reality (XR) and artificial intelligence (AI) revolutionizing the hospitality industry|journal=Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research|year=2022|volume=46|issue=3|pages=489–508|doi=10.1177/10963480211037322|doi-broken-date=141 AprilJuly 2025 }}</ref>

===Accessibility===

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* their interface designers lacked understanding of related security concepts

* their interface designers were not usability experts (often meaning they were the application developers themselves)

===Feminist HCI===

{{main|Feminist HCI}}

Feminist HCI is a subfield of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) that examines the interaction between people and technology through the lens of [[Feminist theory|feminist]] and [[Critical theory|critical theories]]. This particular research topic consists of many sub-disciplines that examine the role of power, [[Social privilege|privilege]], and other systems of [[oppression]] in the [[design]] and interaction of technology.

==Factors of change==

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* ASSETS: ACM International Conference on Computers and [[Accessibility]]

* CSCW: ACM conference on [[Computer Supported Cooperative Work]]

* CUI: ACM conference on [[Conversational user interface|Conversational User Interfaces]]

* DIS: ACM conference on Designing Interactive Systems

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* HCII: Human–Computer Interaction International

* ICMI: International Conference on Multimodal Interfaces

* ITS: ACM conference on [[Interactive Tabletops and Surfaces]]

* [[MobileHCI]]: International Conference on Human–Computer Interaction with Mobile Devices and Services

* NIME: International Conference on [[New Interfaces for Musical Expression]]

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* [[CAPTCHA]]

* [[Digital Live Art]]

* [[FeministText-based HCIuser interface]]

* [[HCI Bibliography]], a web-based project to provide a bibliography of Human Computer Interaction literature

* [[Information architecture]]

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<ref name="value sensitive design">Friedman, B., Kahn Jr, P. H., Borning, A., & Kahn, P. H. (2006). Value Sensitive Design and information systems. Human–Computer Interaction and Management Information Systems: Foundations. ME Sharpe, New York, 348–372.</ref>

<ref name="guidelines">Brown, C. Marlin. Human–Computer Interface Design Guidelines. Intellect Books, 1998. 2–3.</ref>

<ref name="interaction-design">Kaptelinin, Victor (2012): ''Activity Theory''. In: Soegaard, Mads and Dam, Rikke Friis (eds.). "Encyclopedia of Human–Computer Interaction". The Interaction-Design.org Foundation. Available online at [http://www.interaction-design.org/encyclopedia/activity_theory.html http://www.interaction-design.org/encyclopedia/activity_theory.html] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120323212118/http://www.interaction-design.org/encyclopedia/activity_theory.html |date=2012-03-23 }}</ref>

<ref name="introduction">Wickens, Christopher D., John D. Lee, Yili Liu, and Sallie E. Gordon Becker. An Introduction to Human Factors Engineering. Second ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2004. 185–193.</ref>

<ref name="mit">{{cite web|url=https://www.mit.edu/~jtidwell/common_ground_onefile.html|title=The Case for HCI Design Patterns|access-date=2019-08-26|archive-date=2019-09-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190928001239/http://www.mit.edu/~jtidwell/common_ground_onefile.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

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* {{cite journal |last1= Carroll |first1= John M. |year= 2010 |title= Conceptualizing a possible discipline of human–computer interaction |journal= Interacting with Computers |volume= 22 |issue= 1 |pages= 3–12 |doi= 10.1016/j.intcom.2009.11.008}}

* Sara Candeias, S. and A. Veiga ''The dialogue between man and machine: the role of language theory and technology'', Sandra M. Aluísio & Stella E. O. Tagnin, New Language Technologies, and Linguistic Research, A Two-Way Road: cap. 11. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. ({{ISBN|978-1-4438-5377-4}})

<references responsive="0" />

;Social science and HCI