Klaus Opwis

• Prof. Dr. phil.
• Head of Department at University of Basel

Despite its popularity, knowledge of the System Usability Scale’s (SUS) psychometric quality in German is limited. This article developed a positively worded German SUS version and investigated two existing versions. In a preregistered first study (N = 250), positive alternatives for negative items were evaluated using item analyses, exploratory fa...

Despite its popularity, knowledge of the psychometric quality of the System Usability Scale (SUS) in German is limited. This paper addresses this by developing a positively worded German SUS version and investigating two existing German versions. In a preregistered first study, initial positive alternatives for the negative items were evaluated, an...

Successful computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) relies on collaborative group engagement, a complex construct characterized by multifaceted, dynamic, socio-emotional, and socio-cognitive processes. This paper provides a detailed analysis of collaborative group engagement, with a particular focus on nonverbal behaviors as indicators of h...

Measuring the subjective experience of digital game players is essential to player experience research. Recently, the Player Experience Inventory (PXI) was developed, which assesses both functional and psychosocial consequences of digital gameplay. We present a pre-registered independent online study with a large sample to provide additional eviden...

Digital game-based learning (DGBL) aims to harness the intrinsically motivating nature of video games to increase engagement in education. The rising field of DGBL research has consistently shown increased knowledge acquisition for DGBL compared to traditional teaching methods. However, concerns about the methodological rigor of the research have b...

User experience (UX) research relies heavily on survey scales to measure users' subjective experiences with technology. However, repeatedly raised concerns regarding the improper use of survey scales in UX research and adjacent fields call for a systematic review of current measurement practices. Therefore, we conducted a systematic literature revi...

Measuring the subjective experience of digital game players is essential to player experience research. Recently, the Player Experience Inventory (PXI) was developed, which assesses both functional and psychosocial consequences of digital gameplay. We present a pre-registered independent online study with a large sample to provide additional eviden...

Carelessness or insufficient effort responding is a widespread problem in online research, with estimates ranging from 3% to almost 50% of participants in online surveys being inattentive. While detecting carelessness has been subject to multiple studies, the factors that reduce or prevent carelessness are not as well understood. Initial evidence s...

Despite its importance, few validated scales exist to measure aesthetics in HCI. One notable exception, the Visual Aesthetics of Websites Inventory (VisAWI), has never been validated in English. Furthermore, the VisAWI contains negatively formulated items, which adversely impact the psychometric quality of survey scales. Consequently, this paper’s...

Videos are an increasingly popular medium for supporting learning in various educational settings. Nowadays, newly designed video-based environments contain enhanced tools that allow for specific interactions with video materials (such as adding annotations and hyperlinks) which may well support generative learning and conceptual understanding. How...

Transparency is widely regarded as crucial for the responsible real-world deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) and is considered an essential prerequisite to establishing trust in AI. There are several approaches to enabling transparency, with one promising attempt being human-centered explanations. However, there is little research into the...

Past research has demonstrated that aesthetics affect users' experiences in various ways. However, there is little research on the impact of interface aesthetics on user performance in a smartphone app context. The present paper addresses this research gap using an online experiment (N = 281). Two variants of the same web app were created and manip...

This paper examines the folk theory of ELO Hell, which stems from the community of esports players. ELO Hell is a causal explanation for the failure to achieve which is prominent but controversial in esports. Within the community, the belief in the existence of ELO Hell associated with lower skill. We aim to explain the persistence of this folk the...

Images are never seen in isolation. Instead, they are perceived within a spatial and temporal tapestry of neighboring images. What impact do other images have on our emotional response toward a particular image? Answers to this basic question have vital implications for a range of fields—especially for visual communication and for curating art, whe...

Benefits for all user groups is one of the most prominent motivations to provide accessible information and services on the web. Designing digital technologies in a more inclusive manner for users with sensory, motor, or cognitive impairments enhances their overall quality. In practice, work on web accessibility often relies on complying with stand...

User experience research relies heavily on survey scales to measure users' subjective experiences with technology. However, repeatedly raised concerns regarding the improper use of survey scales in UX research and adjacent fields call for a systematic review of current measurement practices. Therefore, we conducted a systematic literature review, s...

There is a growing interest in understanding how to best represent complexity using IDNs. We conceptualize this as the aim to make players of such IDNs reflect critically on the complexity being represented. We argue that current understandings of player experience do not lend themselves to this aim. Research on interactive media has assumed immers...

Interest in science topics is an important prerequisite for science learning and achievement. Here, as part of a field experiment, we studied whether teenagers’ interest and learning of physics topics would be influenced by the aesthetics of a multimedia learning app. More specifically, we investigated with the example of learning about energy (typ...

Measuring theoretical concepts, so-called constructs, is a central challenge of Player Experience research. Building on recent work in HCI and psychology, we conducted a systematic literature review to study the transparency of measurement reporting. We accessed the ACM Digital Library to analyze all 48 full papers published at CHI PLAY 2020, of th...

Measuring theoretical concepts, so-called constructs, is a central challenge of Player Experience research. Building on recent work in HCI and psychology, we conducted a systematic literature review to study the transparency of measurement reporting. We accessed the ACM Digital Library to analyze all 48 full papers published at CHI PLAY 2020, of th...

Computer technology is often designed in technology hubs in Western countries, invariably making it “WEIRD”, because it is based on the intuition, knowledge, and values of people who are Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic. Developing technology that is universally useful and engaging requires knowledge about members of WEIRD an...

Computer technology is often designed in technology hubs in Western countries, invariably making it “WEIRD”, because it is based on the intuition, knowledge, and values of people who are Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic. Developing technology that is universally useful and engaging requires knowledge about members of WEIRD an...

Most people encounter art images as digital reproductions on a computer screen instead of as originals in a museum or gallery. With the development of digital technologies, high- resolution artworks can be accessed anywhere and anytime by a large number of viewers. Since these digital images depict the same content and are attributed to the same ar...

Trust is an essential factor in many social interactions involving uncertainty. In the context of online services and websites, the problems of anonymity and lack of control make trust a vital element for successful e-commerce. Despite trust having received sustained attention, there is a need for validated questionnaires that can be readily applie...

Travellers with visual impairments may face substantial information gaps on their journeys by public transport. For instance, information displayed in trains, as well as on departure boards in train stations and on platforms, are often not available in acoustic or tactile form. Digital technologies, such as smartphones or smartwatches, can provide...

Providing usable web information and services to as many people as possible confronts web professionals with a challenging task. The present study delivers insights about how Web accessibility is perceived in practice. Using a survey, a total of 163 web professionals in various roles reported their evaluation of Web accessibility implementation in...

Background This longitudinal mixed methods experimental study aimed to better understand the interplay between digital technology exposure over time, self-efficacy, and prosocial behavior in everyday contexts. Methods 66 psychology students tracked their daily prosocial behavior over three weeks. Additionally, half of the participants were randoml...

Despite recent concerns about data quality, various academic fields rely increasingly on crowdsourced samples. Thus, the goal of this study was to systematically assess carelessness in a crowdsourced sample (N = 394) by applying various measures and detection methods. A Latent Profile Analysis revealed that 45.9% of the participants showed some for...

Contextual information influences aesthetic experience and psychophysiological responses to art, yet these influences have seldom been analyzed with real artworks in a real museum. Consequently, this study set out to assess the aesthetic experience and psychophysiological responses of participants in an art museum viewing 6 artworks of Flemish expr...

Engaging game characters are often key to a positive and emotionally rich player experience. However, current research treats character attachment in a rather generic manner with little regard for the differing emotional qualities that may characterize this attachment. To address this gap we conducted a qualitative online survey with 213 players ab...

Web Accessibility aims to provide usable web information and services to as many people as possible. Despite the availability of standards and the presence of legal obligations, Web Accessibility often remains unsatisfactory. Through a multi-step approach, the present study addresses the question of how web practitioners form their intention to con...

Plain Language and Easy-To-Read Language are two approaches to reduce language complexity, which are also applied in the context of Web Accessibility. While Easy-To-Read Language was specifically designed to meet the needs of people with cognitive and learning disabilities, benefits for users with a variety of abilities have been reported. However,...

Recently, researchers have become increasingly interested in the potential of video games to promote real-life prosocial behavior. It has been argued that in-game prosocial acts may transfer to players' real-life behavior. But so far little is known about how video games affect players' in-game as well as future real-life prosocial decisions. To ad...

Plain Language and Easy-to-Read Language are two approaches to reduce language complexity, which are also applied in the context of Web Accessibility. While Easy-to-Read Language was specifically designed to meet the needs of people with cognitive and learning disabilities, benefits for users with a variety of abilities have been reported. However,...

Steinemann, S. T, Geelan, B., Sachithananthan, K., Frasseck, L., Iten, G., & Opwis, K. (2018). Simple Acts - A Gameful System To Increase Justice Restoration Self-Efficacy and Civic Engagement. In Games Everywhere, Gaming Everywhere: On the Edge of Ubiquity, from Mobile to Augmented Reality Games and Beyond. Pre-Conference to the 68th International...

The purpose of this work's larger project is to investigate if users' basic psychological needs within Self-Determination Theory are satisfied through game design elements over time and if this influences user retention. It is also to be investigated if there is a specific order of satisfaction of these needs. As a preliminary work, 47 participants...

Recent work introduced the notion of emotional challenge as a means to afford more unique and diverse gaming experiences. However, players' experience of emotional challenge has received little empirical attention. It remains unclear whether players enjoy it and what exactly constitutes the challenge thereof. We surveyed 171 players about a challen...

Motivation is a fundamental concept in understanding people's experiences and behavior. Yet, motivation to engage with an interactive system has received only limited attention in HCI. We report the development and validation of the User Motivation Inventory (UMI). The UMI is an 18-item multidimensional measure of motivation, rooted in self-determi...

The potential of narrative-rich games to impact emotions, attitudes, and behavior brings with it exciting opportunities and implications within both enter- tainment and serious game contexts. However, effects are not always consistent, potentially due to game choices not always being perceived as meaningful by the players. To examine these perceptu...

Despite HCI's interest in topics around sexuality, pornography has remained underexplored. Specifically, the user experience (UX) of technology-mediated pornography has received little attention, even though it has been argued that it may contribute to a better understanding of pleasure and enjoyability of interactive systems. We surveyed 187 parti...

A widespread belief attributes the first impression to be decisive for retaining users on websites. However, empirical investigation on this conjecture has been largely omitted. This paper examines the influence of positive and negative first impressions on subsequent website usage decisions in three different user tasks. In all tasks appealing or...

Motivation is a fundamental concept in understanding people’s experiences and behavior. Yet, motivation to engage with an interactive system has received only limited attention in HCI. We report the development and validation of the User Motivation Inventory (UMI). The UMI is an 18-item multidimensional measure of motivation, rooted in self-determi...

Playing digital games can confront the player with choices that are emotional, morally ambivalent and highly personally meaningful. Past research suggests that meaningful choices have the potential to positively affect prosocial behavior. Up to now however, it is unclear what specific characteristics make in-game choices meaningful. The goal of thi...

Games and gameful systems designed to support social change most often seek to persuade by inducing empathy and outrage through the depiction of the direness of social issues and thus motivating people to take action. However, motivation is only one possible angle from which to approach behavior change. When capability or opportunity for meaningful...

Research on the effectiveness of gamification has proliferated over the last few years, but the underlying motivational mechanisms have only recently become object of empirical research. It has been suggested that when perceived as informational, gamification elements, such as points, levels and leaderboards, may afford feelings of competence and h...

Appropriate challenges and challenge-skill balance are usually key to positive player experiences. However, some games such as the successful series Dark Souls are notorious for their excessive difficulty. Yet, there has been little empirical investigation of why players enjoy games they constantly struggle and fail with. We surveyed 95 participant...

Interactive narratives offer interesting opportunities for the study of the impact of media on behavior. A growing amount of research on games advocating social change, including those focusing on interactive narratives, has highlighted their potential for attitudinal and behavioral impact. In this study, we examine the relationship between interac...

Objective: Besides physical complaints, patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) often suffer from cognitive problems. However, it is still a matter of debate whether a specific profile of cognitive disturbances underlies the disease, and if so, whether this profile contributes to the maintenance of the illness and also leads to the development of diffe...

To date the impact of game outcome on prosocial behavior and attitude change has gone unexamined. Especially in the context of games trying to increase prosocial behavior and attitude change, understanding this connection may hold great potential. Therefore, the goal of this work-in-progress is to lay out the theoretical background to understanding...

Emotional game experiences have garnered increasing attention over the past few years, both from players and researchers. Previous research has not yet explored whether and what gratifications players derive from frightening game experiences. Interviews with eight players revealed several gratifications, including experiencing non-mundane negative...

Motivational psychology suggests that informationally designed gamification can increase intrinsic motivation. However, there has been little empirical research to test this assumption. In a first experiment we compared whether a gamified and a non-gamified application differed in terms of usability, intrinsic motivation and need satisfaction. No s...

Knowing users’ expectations about what they expect on a website and where they expect to find it is crucial for the success of a website. For the last decade, technological advances have entailed major changes in website design but the impact of these changes on users’ mental representations of websites remains unclear. In an online study (N = 841)...

Evaluation of musical instruments is a challenging topic and currently lacks common ground and accepted methods. We aimed to address this issue by developing a questionnaire for the evaluation of musical instrument quality from the perspective of the musician. We discovered three interrelated facets of how musicians experience musical instruments....

Animated transitions are an important part of graphical user interface design practice. They can help to guide users' attention and highlight changes in the interface. However, there is only little empirical research on how such animated transitions influence the users' perception of an interface. We therefore aim to investigate how different anima...

Emotions are key to the player experience (PX) and interest in the potential of games to provide unique emotional, sometimes uncomfortable experiences is growing. Yet there has been little empirical investigation of what game experiences players consider emotionally moving, their causes and effects, and whether players find these experiences reward...

Purpose: Patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) show inefficiencies in cognitive performance including working memory functions. Since these problems impact on quality of life and overall well-being, the current study was aimed at improving patients' situations by evaluating the computerized cognitive training tool, BrainStim. Method: A total of...

Understanding different facets of positive user experience (UX) is of great interest to researchers. Recently, 'positive design' and fostering happiness through technology is gaining more attention. However, little empirical research has been conducted. We adopted a concept from positive psychology that describes different facets of positive experi...

Recent research suggests that gamification has the potential to increase intrinsic motivation, as well as decrease users’ intrinsic motivation. However, the understanding of why gamification sometimes is successful and other times not, is still not fully understood. One reason for this is that applied research has been lacking a theoretical foundat...

Games for change have attracted the interest of humanitarian aid organizations and researchers alike. However, their effectiveness to promote behavior such as donating remains unclear. Furthermore, little is known about how key game properties interactivity and presentation mode impact the effectiveness of these games, or how player attitudes and e...

The present study examines how objective design factors of a website are linked to different facets of subjective aesthetic perception. Five online experiments based upon the screenshots of real-existing websites with a total of N = 194 participants were conducted to isolate and analyze the effects of two objective structural factors (vertical symm...

The aim of this research is to study the content of trustful and distrustful user experiences on the web to identify website characteristics that enhance trust or cause distrust. We collected users’ reports about critical incidents and quantitative questionnaire data by means of an online survey. Results from N = 221 participants suggest that distr...

Players have increasingly become interested in emotional game experiences beyond simple "fun". Although previous research has identified several gratifications of fun experiences, still little is known about whether and what gratifications players derive from emotionally moving game experiences. Interviews with 12 Japanese and Western players revea...

In recent years, researchers aimed to understand different facets of positive experiences with technology. Positive psychology, and recently also HCI, makes use of a hedonia/ eudaimonia distinction. Hedonia is understood as providing enjoyable experiences, whereas eudaimonia is associated with meaningful experiences. However, it is not clear how eu...

Background Cognitive decline in multiple sclerosis (MS) negatively impacts patients’ everyday functioning and quality of life. Since symptomatic pharmacological treatment is not yet available alternative treatment strategies such as cognitive rehabilitation are of particular interest. Objectives To analyse the ways in which MS patients respond to...

To assess possible effects of working memory (WM) training on cognitive functionality, functional MRI and brain connectivity in patients with juvenile MS. Cognitive status, fMRI and inter-network connectivity were assessed in 5 cases with juvenile MS aged between 12 and 18 years. Afterwards they received a computerized WM training for four weeks. P...

Background: Subthalamic stereotactic interventions have recently caught renewed interest as a treatment for essential tremor (ET). However, it is not clear whether these interventions are associated with neurocognitive, mood or personality changes. Objective: To investigate neurocognition, neuropsychiatric functions and personality variables in pat...

This work-in-progress describes a three-month diary study, exploring how 25 players experienced the puzzle platformer FEZ over several gaming sessions. Following each 30 - 60 minute gaming sessions, players wrote a diary entry describing their game experience and rated their intrinsic motivation. Preliminary findings showed that intrinsic motivatio...

Cognitive theories of multimedia are seeking the best way of creating materials to enhance learning outcomes. The so-called modality effect accords that learning outcomes are better if visual material such as images is presented together with auditory rather than with visual information such as text. However, previous research on this effect is con...

Enjoyment has been identified as a central component of the player experience (PX), but various, overlapping concepts within PX make it difficult to develop valid measures and a common understanding of game enjoyment. We conducted a systematic review of 87 quantitative studies, analyzing different operationalizations and measures of game enjoyment,...

This study reports a controlled eye tracking experiment (N = 65) that shows the combined effectiveness of 20 guidelines to improve interactive online forms when applied to forms found on real company websites. Results indicate that improved web forms lead to faster completion times, fewer form submission trials, and fewer eye movements. Data from s...

"Know your users!" A short request but a challenging one. Studies have shown that the positioning of web objects according to the users' mental models can prevent errors and increase the efficiency of interaction. Therefore an important aspect of the design of websites is to take the expectations of the users into account. However the results of th...

In previous studies non-interactive visual simulations in learning tasks have improved learners' conceptual understanding of statistical principles. To explore the impact of interactive visual simulations on conceptual understanding of statistical principles, an online tutorial where students could either manipulate or only observe changes of stati...

The theory of the archetypes and the hypothesis of the collective unconscious are two of the central characteristics of analytical psychology. These provoke, however, varying reactions among academic psychologists. Empirical studies which test these hypotheses are rare. Rosen, Smith, Huston and Gonzales proposed a cognitive psychological experiment...

It is heavily debated within the gamification community whether specific game elements may actually undermine users' intrinsic motivation. This online experiment examined the effects of three commonly employed game design elements -- points, leaderboard, levels -- on users' performance, intrinsic motivation, perceived autonomy and competence in an...

Junge und erwachsene Schachexperten und -novizen wurden bezüglich ihrer Behaltensleistungen für kurzzeitig dargebotene Schachstellungen und für Anordnungen geometrischer Körper miteinander verglichen. Die Ergebnisse zeigen eine differenzierte Wirksamkeit von Expertise in Abhängigkeit von der Vertrautheit mit dem zu Lernenden Material und von der Ar...

Die Beurteilung der Angemessenheit theoretischer Oberlegungen auf der Grundlage statistischer Hypothesentests ist für die empirische Forschung von zentraler Bedeutung. Im Mittelpunkt der Arbeit stehen die mit der Testung von multivariaten Strukturgleichungsmodellen (LISREL-Modelle) verbundenen Probleme. Zu Beginn wird das LISREL-Modell unter den As...

BACKGROUND: Stereotactic central lateral thalamotomy (CLT) has been applied as a treatment for chronic intractable neuropathic pain. However, it is not clear whether this intervention influences the emotional and cognitive impairments observed in patients who have chronic neuropathic pain. OBJECTIVE: To investigate neuropsychological functions and...

This article contains the response to the reviews regarding the development and validation of the Intranet Satisfaction Questionnaire (ISQ), which measures user satisfaction with the Intranet. Where appropriate additional data analysis and interpretation is provided, the data show further evidence for the good validity, reliability and sensitivity...

Interest in gamification is growing steadily. But as the underlying mechanisms of gamification are not well understood yet, a closer examination of a gamified activity’s meaning and individual game design elements may provide more insights. We examine the effects of points – a basic element of gamification, – and meaningful framing – acknowledging...

Most websites use interactive online forms as a main contact point to users. Recently, many publications aim at optimizing web forms. In contrast to former research that focused at the evaluation of single guidelines, the present study shows in a controlled lab experiment with n=23 participants the combined effectiveness of 20 guidelines on real co...

Effective communication on the internet is becoming increasingly difficult for advertisers, as they have to compete with many others for user attention. We examine the role of source credibility (specifically website and advertiser credibility) as a means to increase advertising effectiveness. Our results showed that website credibility affects ad...

Banner blindness, the phenomenon that the user will consciously or unconsciously ignore online banners while navigating a certain website, is a big problem for marketers and has been studied in the past. We present a study that tests the hypothesis whether the user's memory (free recall and recognition) is influenced by the user's goal orientation...

Interest in gamification is growing steadily. But as the underlying mechanisms of gamification are not well understood yet, a closer examination of a gamified activity's meaning and individual game design elements may provide more insights. We examine the effects of points -- a basic element of gamification, -- and meaningful framing -- acknowledgi...

The Reading the Mind in the Eyes test (short Eyes test) is a widely used instrument assessing theory of mind abilities in adults. The present study for the first time assesses its test‐ retest reliability and provides initial data on the psychometric properties of a German version. 132 nonclinical participants completed the German Eyes test, a test...

The Reading the Mind in the Eyes test (short Eyes test) is a widely used instrument assessing theory of mind abilities in adults. The present study for the first time assesses its test-retest reliability and provides initial data on the psychometric properties of a German version. 132 nonclinical participants completed the German Eyes test, a test...

The Reading the Mind in the Eyes test (short Eyes test) is a widely used instrument assessing theory of mind abilities in adults. The present study for the first time assesses its test‐ retest reliability and provides initial data on the psychometric properties of a German version. 132 nonclinical participants completed the German Eyes test, a test...

Background. There is evidence that patients with schizophrenia suffer from decline in working memory performance with consequences for psychosocial outcome. Objective. To evaluate the efficacy of a computerized working memory training program (BrainStim) in patients with chronic schizophrenia. Methods. Twenty-nine inpatients with chronic schizophre...

The Stroop task has a long-standing history in psychological research and diagnostics, and many variants have emerged. Computerized versions have recently gained popularity because of their applicability in brain-imaging studies. It remains unclear, however, whether computerized versions are content valid with reference to the original task. We com...

Individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD) frequently suffer from sleep disturbances. The authors investigated circadian rhythms, sleep, and well-being in women with BPD in their habitual life conditions during 3 weeks with morning light therapy (LT) and 3 weeks without LT (oLT). Sleep-wake cycles were measured using wrist actimetry, pr...

This paper experimentally investigates the role of visual complexity (VC) and prototypicality (PT) as design factors of websites, shaping users' first impressions by means of two studies. In the first study, 119 screenshots of real websites varying in VC (low vs. medium vs. high) and PT (low vs. high) were rated on perceived aesthetics. Screenshot...

This study compared a high intensity working memory training (45 minutes, 4 times per week for 4 weeks) with a distributed training (45 minutes, 2 times per week for 8 weeks) in middle-aged, healthy adults. The aim was to clarify whether a computerised working memory training is effective and whether intensity of training influences training outcom...

This paper analyzes the relation between usability and aesthetics. In a laboratory study, 80 participants used one of four different versions of the same online shop, differing in interface-aesthetics (low vs. high) and interface-usability (low vs. high). Participants had to find specific items and rate the shop before and after usage on perceived...

There are many ways of placing error messages in web forms. A study of web conventions shows that the most common approach is to display error messages embedded in the form at the top of the entire form. Six frequent locations (right, left, above and below the erroneous input field, as well as on the top and at the bottom of the form) were tested i...

Purpose: Children with epilepsy have a significant risk for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), which is often accompanied by deficits in working memory performance. However, it is not yet clear whether there are specific differences in the underlying mechanisms of working memory capability between children with epilepsy-related ADHD...

In this study, we tested whether the visual complexity (VC) of webpages influences viewer's affective reactions. In a laboratory experiment, 48 students viewed 36 webpages varying in VC while subjective feelings, behavioral, and cardiovascular responses were recorded. Less complex webpages were associated with more positive affect, decreased eye mo...

Users have clear expectations of where web objects are located on a web page. Studies conducted with manipulated, fictitious websites showed that web objects placed according to user expectations are found faster and remembered more easily. Whether this is also true for existing websites has not yet been examined. The present study investigates the...