Design recommendations under the Self-determination theory: Analyzing some systems and their implication to self-esteem

Abstract

Self-esteem is a concept that refers to a person's self-evaluation that can be related to the person’s success in interacting with other people and the world around them. The self-esteem of a person is built over a lifetime, influenced by experiences, social interactions, and sense-making about the world based on self-perception of life. As people, technology and society are increasingly connected, technology may also influence its user’s self-esteem. In this paper, we investigate the subject through the lens of the Self-determination Theory, by analyzing literature work addressing the relation between technology design and self-esteem impact. Based on a meta-analysis of 21 papers previously selected from literature, we present, as result, 18 design recommendations to digital and physical artefact solutions; these recommendations are classified according to their main content, purpose, and aspect (personal, social, and technical). We could verify the recommendations completeness and analyze how they encompass the capacity of influencing self-esteem in four systems raised from literature and in one system developed considering these recommendations. With results of this work, we aim at providing technical support to guide designers in improving their system towards users’ motivation and self-esteem, favoring a designer’s reflection about how the systems they develop may affect the user’s life.