Cultural Probes

 Academic Practise                                                                                                  12/01/2011

Lecture by Dc Claire Andrews

Working with the group Information Environment

Context : Research/ Psychology

                Information Environments

                Design/ Social Science Methods

Topic : Cultural Probes

The first Question Claire asked in her presentation was : « what are Cultural Probes ? ». To answer that question, she quoted Bill Gaver who defined Cultural Probes as «a design-led approach to understanding users that stressed empathy and engagement». 

In other terms, Cultural Probes is about creating a strategy to get subjective, yet genuine and inspiring responses from the subject. The researcher uses open-ended questions, creates tasks and original situations, and provides the subject with choices.

The goal of this method is to make the subject interact with the researcher while expressing and analysing his feelings and thoughts.

 It allows the researcher to understand human behaviour in a profound way by « extrapolating narratives and Dramatizing relationships». That is to say, building up connexions by intersecting findings.

 This process is called Interpretative phenomenological Analysis (cf Smith and Osborn)

It has been a very controversial approach, indeed we may ask ourselves: « how can a subjective method lead to relevant information ? »

Well if not everyone agrees that it is a serious method, at least we can note that it had had a lot of success and has become very popular these days in marketing, sociology etc..

To make us understand better this methodology she took three cases of study she worked on :

Case of study number 1 Domestic Probes2005-2007

The goal of this study was to « subvert stereotypes of the home that we perceived »

They were 20 family involved in this research they had to describe their house rules such as « not put your feet on the table » or « not talk about financial issues while taking the supper ».

Also, the study focused on how family reacted with prototypes. (in that particular case a table with a hole. In it you could see a landscape, and it would zoom in and out while moving the table… )

Case of study number 2 Safer Spaces

The goal of this project was to « re-engage awareness in communities in public spaces

In each experiment the subjects are given a Cultural Probe pack including in this particular case : A comic book, a journey map, crayons, sticker blocks…

This research was about feeling safe on the London underground, and they were surprised to infer that people were more concerned about being mugged, or attaqued on their daily journey than being attacked by terrorists.

Case of study number 3 Designing with intent

Clare is currently working on this project ( so it’s a bit confidential).

This research uses an innovative blending of social science and design methods to understand how behaviour is shaped and influenced in transitional spaces such as second Life.

Conclusion

Information vs Inspiration ?

Chloe Belloin

MACD