Using Repertory Grids as a cross cultural research
technique (aka – measuring aesthetic perceptions)
User Friendly Conference
24 October 2008
Shenzhen, China
Anthony Sonego
User Centred Design Specialist
Telstra Product Management
Ph: (02) 8576 2547
Mob: 0419 607 198
Anthony.Sonego@team.telstra.com

Outline
1. Welcome!
2. Let me share a story with you
BREAK (10 minutes)
3. Repertory Grids – an introduction
4. Elicitation
5. Analysis
BREAK (5 minutes)
6. Class project
7. Summary
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1. Welcome!
• Who am I?
• What did I do in China?
• What do I do now?
• Who do I work for?
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Who am I?
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What did I do in China?
I might talk a little bit here…
Feel free to take notes if you want, but there’s no test at the end. ☺
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What do I do now?
UCD Specialist
Work as part of a Customer Experience team
• User Centred Design
• Visual Design
• Engagement
• Network Performance
What type of work do we do?
• We engage with the customer. We research, analyse, design
and iterate… as well as have a healthy discourse on a myriad
of topics related to UI and product development.
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Who do I work for?
Top 5 Australian company
FY07 sales of A$23.7 billion
1.4 million shareholders
Universal brand recognition
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2. Let me share a story with you
• First – let’s revisit the topic
• How did I learn about Rep Grids?
• Laowei observations
• What can the iPod teach us?
• Aesthetics
• The link between aesthetics and usability
• The value of aesthetics in a global economy
• Culture
• Measuring aesthetic judgements and cultural differences
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First - let’s revisit the topic
“Using Repertory Grids as a cross “Measuring aesthetic perceptions
cultural research technique.” using Rep Grids.”
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How did I learn about Rep Grids?
Like most things, somebody introduced me to them…
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Laowei observations
I might talk a little bit here too…
Is function more important than form in China?
If so, this may suggest that when making purchasing decisions aesthetic
values have a lower importance than other factors such as price,
availability, product support or technical feature set for the average
Chinese consumer.
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What can the iPod teach us?
In 2005 the iPod was not as popular here as the rest of the world
Why ?
• Price?
• Low market presence?
“Considering that average Chinese mobile-phone buyers make far less
than their American counterparts, it’s clear that folks will do whatever it
takes to get the gadgets they want.”
Salkever (2004) BusinessWeek online
Maybe it had to do with aesthetic appeal?
Discussion points:
1. Is a utilitarian perspective part of Chinese culture; function over form?
2. Globalisation – what impact will this have on customer perceptions?
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Aesthetics (1 of 2)
“A set of principles concerned with the nature and appreciation of beauty.”
New Oxford Dictionary 2005
• 50 milliseconds is all it takes! (Lindgaard et al, 2006)
• 3 levels of processing: visceral, behavioural, reflective (Norman, 2004)
• Visceral (pre-cognitive) reactions impact emotional responses
• Positive emotional responses lead to better outcomes
“The emotional side of design may be more critical to a product’s success
than its practical elements.”
Norman, D.A. (2004) Emotional Design: Why we love (or hate) everyday things. New York, NY: Basic Books
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Aesthetics (2 of 2)
Do attractive things work better?
• ATM usability perception in Japan (Kurosu and Kashimura, 1995)
• ATM usability perception in Israel (Tractinsky, 1997)
• ATM pre and post test usability (Tractinsky et al, 2000)
• Search visualisation tools: perceptions and usage (Chawda et al, 2005)
The research indicates that aesthetically pleasing systems are perceived to
work better but no correlation to actually working better has been found
presently.
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The link between aesthetics and usability (1 of 4)
ISO 9241
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The link between aesthetics and usability (2 of 4)
The effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction with which specified users
achieve specified goals in particular environments.
Effectiveness – the accuracy and completeness with which specified
users can achieve specified goals in particular environments
Efficiency – the resources expended in relation to the accuracy and
completeness of goals achieved
Satisfaction – the comfort and acceptability of the work system to its
users and other people affected by its use
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The link between aesthetics and usability (3 of 4)
USABILITY FACTOR * Emergency dispatch Construction line worker Discrete personal use of
technology
Effectiveness
75% 15% 10%
(minimise errors)
Efficiency
15% 75% 15%
(speed to process tasks)
Satisfaction
10% 10% 75%
(absence of frustration)
* Examples are for illustrative purposes only.
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The link between aesthetics and usability (4 of 4)
Activity – how do we measure the following?
1. Effectiveness
2. Efficiency
3. Satisfaction
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The value of aesthetics in a global economy
1. Knowing whether or not aesthetic differences exist between cultures
means production can be targeted more specifically.
2. Aesthetics can offer a competitive edge to businesses – particularly
when products are perceived to be functionally equal.
3. Good design may play a part in satisfying certain personal needs.
“ ‘Self satisfaction’ is now the number one motivator in the big cities of
Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai; it is the principle objective among the
young, edging out ‘work hard and get rich’ among the 18-24 year olds. It
has also become the predominant aspiration among the most affluent.”
McEwen, William, Fang, Xioauang, Zhang, Chuanping & Burkolder, Richard (2006). Inside the Mind of the Chinese
Consumer. Harvard Business Review. USA: Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation.
Based on a Gallup Organiszation survey ranging over ten years from 1994 to 2004.
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Culture (1 of 2)
“Common values, attitudes and behaviour patterns that a particular social
group share.”
New Oxford Dictionary 2005
• Human made part of the environment (Herkovits, 1955)
• A set of reinforcements (Skinner, 1981)
• Collective programming of the mind (Hofstede, 1991)
• Unstated standard way of doing things… adaptive and transmitted across
time and generations (Triandis, 1994)
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Culture (2 of 2)
• Hofstede’s 5 dimensions
− Power-distance
− Collectivism vs. individualism
− Femininity vs. masculinity
− Uncertainty avoidance
− Long vs. short-term orientation
• Vitor, Hall and Trompenaar
• Qifeng Yan (Nokia: UPA2006 presentation)
− Complexity tolerance
− Difficulty tolerance
− Communication bandwidth
− Preference of colour and shape
− Explicit Vs Implicit way of communication
− Perception of functions: Expanding Vs Convergent thinking
But what if you want to discover what the dimensions are naturally,
instead of applying existing classifications to your research?
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Measuring aesthetic judgements and cultural
differences
Vatrapu and Perez-Quinones (2006) found that when conducting a
structured usability evaluation of a website, if the interviewer was not from
the same culture as the participants this had a significant effect on the
results obtained.
As researchers, we need to be aware of the potential for cultural bias
during the interview process and to work at minimising these effects, at
the same time ensuring that information is captured accurately.
Enter the Repertory Grid technique which was designed to avoid, as
far as possible, the limitations of a particular time and culture.
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Break (10 minutes)
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3. Repertory Grids – an introduction
• Personal Construct Theory
• Background
• Preparation
• The Grid itself
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Personal Construct Theory
• systematic account of the way people construct explanations
• expressed formally in 1955 by American clinical psychologist George
Kelly
• not widely appreciated in psychology circles who think that knowledge
comes from a discovery of truths
• PCT asserts that knowledge development involves a process of invention
consistent with experience
• informs thinking in the field of consumer psychology
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Background
• a construct consists of distinction meaningful to the individual
• two poles – constructs and constraints
• individuals have their own, personal, constructs
• systematically compare and contrast important aspects or elements of
that situation
• rate these elements/products
• insights are gained on a level that has not been predetermined by the
interviewer’s focus, such as from questionnaires or surveys
So, Repertory Grids provide us with both qualitative and quantitative
data that has not been influenced by the culture of the interviewer.
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Preparation
You will need to…
• Organise for a translator
• Create a screening questionnaire
• Consider a consent form (translated)
• Schedule interview times with your translator
• Allow for travel
• Prepare your presentation materials
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The grid itself
A grid consists of four parts:
1. A Topic: it is about some part of the person's experience
2. A set of Elements: which are examples or instances of the Topic.
3. A set of Constructs: these are the basic terms that the client uses
to make sense of the elements, and are always expressed as a
contrast.
4. A set of ratings of Elements on Constructs: Each element is
positioned between the two extremes of the construct using a 5- or
7-point rating scale system
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4. Elicitation
• Group Elicitation
• Individual Elicitation
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Group Elicitation
Useful when interviewing many at once – saves time.
Provides a uniform set of constructs/constraints which makes analysis
easier!
Potential for social hierarchies to influence the collection of constructs.
Class Activity:
• What qualities make a good foreign language teacher?
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Individual Elicitation
No uniform set of constructs that participants are compelled to adhere to.
Used to freely record the words each participant uses.
Analysis is more complex.
Class Activity:
• What do you find aesthetically pleasing about each portable media player?
Construct Element 1 Element 2 Element 3 Element 4 Element 5 Constraint
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5. Analysis
• Qualitative
• Quantitative
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Qualitative (1 of 2)
Content analysis:
(Please refer to A3 sized charts)
232 individual constructs –
reduced to 9 key construct areas
Literal or straightforward:
“simplicity of controls”
Degree of liberty required:
“attention to detail”
A great source of “rich” data!
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Qualitative (2 of 2)
Evaluating the constructs:
(Please refer to A3 sized charts)
Can graphically represent key
dimensions for the whole sample
size, as well as the individual
cultures.
Despite some visible differences in
the blue graph, a chi square
analysis of the average of the
responses revealed that there was
no statistical significance between
the two groups to the extent to
which they endorsed each
construct:
Chi Square (8) = 9.806, p>0.05
(CV=15.607)
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Quantitative (1 of 4)
Rep Grid IV
Data output example
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Quantitative (2 of 4)
• Can get tricky here – stay with me. ☺
• Homogeny comes at a cost…
• Value reversals
• Weighting of responses
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Quantitative (3 of 4)
• Once all participant data has been correlated and put on the same scale,
further insights can be gained.
• Overall mean and standard deviation for each construct category.
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Quantitative (4 of 4)
• Individual product comparisons can also be made.
• Useful for identifying differences in aesthetic appreciation between cultures.
• Highlights dimensions that require attention for product development.
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Break (5 minutes)
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6. Class project
• Mobile phones or business cards – you decide ☺
• Discussion
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Mobile phones or business cards
I tried to choose an item that most of us would have with us today.
So, take me through it!
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Discussion
1. What did you find easy?
2. What did you find difficult?
3. Were there any problems you encountered?
4. How did you overcome them?
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7. Summary
• Wrapping up!
• A final tip
• A resource list of available software
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Wrapping up!
• In relation to Customer Experience, aesthetics matter!
• Aesthetic recognition triggers a visceral reaction, which influences our
emotional and reflective responses.
• Attractive products or systems are perceived to be easier to use.
• In a global market place, aesthetics can be used to drive development,
differentiate your product and create a connection with your customers to
enhance the user experience.
• Traditionally, usability research has not focussed on measuring aesthetic
perceptions.
• The Repertory Grid allows users to construct their own meaning of a
product or experience, without interviewer bias affecting the outcome.
• It consists of two processes: elicitation (group or individual) and analysis.
• Both qualitative and quantitative insights can be drawn from the data.
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A final tip
Remember the golden rule…
Do not prompt - allow the user to provide their own understanding
of the product or experience. ☺
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A resource list of available software
SOURCE: http://www.epca-net.org/Default.aspx?pageId=42152
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Thank-you ☺
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