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Positive Technology: Using Interactive Technologies to Promote Positive Functioning

DOI:10.1089/cyber.2011.0139
Authors:
Giuseppe Riva at Catholic University of the Sacred Heart
Giuseppe Riva
Rosa M Baños at University of Valencia
Rosa M Baños
Cristina Botella at Universitat Jaume I
Cristina Botella
Brenda Kay Wiederhold at Virtual Reality Medical Center
Brenda Kay Wiederhold
  • Virtual Reality Medical Center
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It is generally assumed that technology assists individuals in improving the quality of their lives. However, the impact of new technologies and media on well-being and positive functioning is still somewhat controversial. In this paper, we contend that the quality of experience should become the guiding principle in the design and development of new technologies, as well as a primary metric for the evaluation of their applications. The emerging discipline of Positive Psychology provides a useful framework to address this challenge. Positive Psychology is the scientific study of optimal human functioning and flourishing. Instead of drawing on a "disease model" of human behavior, it focuses on factors that enable individuals and communities to thrive and build the best in life. In this paper, we propose the "Positive Technology" approach--the scientific and applied approach to the use of technology for improving the quality of our personal experience through its structuring, augmentation, and/or replacement--as a way of framing a suitable object of study in the field of cyberpsychology and human-computer interaction. Specifically, we suggest that it is possible to use technology to influence three specific features of our experience--affective quality, engagement/actualization, and connectedness--that serve to promote adaptive behaviors and positive functioning. In this framework, positive technologies are classified according to their effects on a specific feature of personal experience. Moreover, for each level, we have identified critical variables that can be manipulated to guide the design and development of positive technologies.
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Supplementary resource (1)

Positive Technology: Using Interactive Technologies to Support Well Being and Social Interactions
Data
July 2014
Andrea Gaggioli · Giuseppe Riva
... Therefore, there are clear benefits to promoting positive experiences and emotions, especially among vulnerable and/or isolated adults. Recently, technologies have become believable candidates for enhancing individuals' health and well-being, leading to the emergence of the "positive technology" framework [2]. This framework suggests that technologies may improve user emotions, well-being, and interactions. ...
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Recently, immersive technologies such as Virtual Reality (VR) have become believable candidates for enhancing indi- viduals’ well-being. However, there are several barriers to using VR to improve well-being, including design, and the availability of diverse video content. Thus, our study aimed to investigate the impact of immersion and virtual environ- ment content (natural vs. social) on different age groups, as there is limited research on this aspect. 38 undergraduates and 25 older adults were recruited for the present study. They watched and rated 360° videos of natural and social contents under a highly immersive Head-mounted display (HMD) and a less immersive screen, while their skin con- ductance and heart rate were collected. Overall, preliminary findings suggest that while video content matters and leads to specific emotional responses in younger adults, older users reported high levels of positive emotions and arousal throughout most immersive experiences. As these are encouraging results VR for fostering positive emotions in elderly users, potential applications for a “successful aging” or vulnerable users will be discussed.
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... Positive psychology focuses on aspects like affective quality, engagement, actualization, and connectedness in personal experiences. Positive technology uses technology to enhance these aspects of cyberpsychology and human-computer interaction (Riva et al., 2012(Riva et al., , 2014. However, excessive technology use can lead to negative effects on behavior, work-life balance, and work performance (Tams et al., 2020). ...
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... Leveraging these affordances appropriately may allow us to foster greater wellbeing and more social connection in various contexts. This approach is aligned with the perspectives of the positive technology movement that seeks to draw on technology and wellbeing science to optimize psychological and physical health (Riva et al., 2012;Gaggioli et al., 2019). The articles in this issue advance this approach by highlighting several areas in which technology may be a force for good. ...
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... Principle 7: targets to provide a positive experience. Designing for experience aims to improve human happiness and well-being (Hassenzahl, 2013), and to support human functioning and flourishing (Riva, et al., 2022). This is an incredibly positive target that requires innovators to adopt a possibility-driven approach rather than a problem-driven one, to unlock all possibilities to find creative solutions for consumers' varied challenges (Desmet & Hassenzahl, 2012). ...
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... For over a decade, design researchers and practitioners have been exploring how design can target subjective well-being through practices such as Positive Design , Positive Technology (Riva et al., 2012), Positive Computing (Calvo & Peters, 2014), and Experience Design (Hassenzahl, 2010). While divers, these initiatives are inspired and informed by knowledge developed in the field of positive psychology that explains the conditions for human well-being and flourishing. ...
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... For over a decade, design researchers and practitioners have been exploring how design can target subjective well-being through practices such as Positive Design , Positive Technology (Riva et al., 2012), Positive Computing (Calvo & Peters, 2014), and Experience Design (Hassenzahl, 2010). While divers, these initiatives are inspired and informed by knowledge developed in the field of positive psychology that explains the conditions for human well-being and flourishing. ...
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... Well-being focus is also emphasised in Positive Technology and Positive Computing approaches. Positive Technologies advocates for utilising technology to enhance affective quality, engagement, and connectedness of human experiences, with virtual reality environments and software design being common examples used as interventions for mental health and wellbeing (Riva et al., 2012). Calvo and Peters (2014) also focus on promoting wellbeing through Positive Computing by addressing key factors such as self-awareness, compassion, gratitude, and motivation in their design strategies. ...
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... 2,3 A pivotal concept within positive computing is positive technologies, which focuses on leveraging technology to enhance the quality of personal experiences. 4 Notable examples of such positive technologies, EARTH of Well-being 5 and Smiling is Fun, 6 have been developed to promote positive emotions in users. Considering the current context, where technology's omnipresence is unavoidable, integrating positive psychological techniques, like gratitude, using technological advancements seems an apt and compelling choice to foster overall health and well-being. ...
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