Journey to My Past: Exploring and Journaling Past Memories Evoked by Questions Framed as Proud Moments

Research Background and Issues

• What problems or challenges did the authors identify?
  Traditional autobiographical diaries are often limited to recording recent events, rarely addressing distant past experiences. This creates temporal gaps, making it difficult to form a systematic life history. Additionally, users may struggle to maintain consistent diary entries due to distractions such as busy schedules or negative emotions. Furthermore, the inherent vagueness of memory makes accurately recalling past events challenging, underscoring the need for tools that support both recollection and recording.

• Why is this issue important?
  "Recalling and recording past events" not only aids users in self-awareness and emotional growth but also enhances well-being through life history reflection. It can also serve clinical purposes, such as improving emotional health or addressing self-awareness-related issues.

• Research Motivation and Related Work
  Diaries are effective tools for recording life events, helping individuals reflect and improve their well-being. However, in practice, diary-keeping often lacks consistency. Building on prior explorations, such as sensor-based automatic recording systems and emotion diaries, this study aims to design a tool that more effectively helps users recall and document past events.

Solution

• What methods or solutions did the authors propose?
  The authors designed and implemented a system called "Rebulb," which includes a desktop device and a mobile application. This system uses reflective prompts to guide users in recalling memories centered on "proud moments" and recording these memories to build a personal life history.

• What are the innovative aspects of this solution?

  • The first integration of reflective prompts with everyday support devices, using "proud moments" as a positive framework to guide users in recalling the past.
  • A combination of "spontaneous recollection" and "intentional recollection," offering users flexible opportunities for daily reflection.
  • Leveraging the physical form of the device (e.g., sliding display screens) to enhance environmental triggers for user awareness, making information more visible.
  • Introducing a dual-layer question structure: initial recall of "proud moments" followed by related reflective questions for deeper exploration.

• What are the implementation steps and key technologies used?

  1. Device Design and Implementation: The desktop device features a sliding display mechanism; hardware integrates a display, motor system, and corresponding control modules.
  2. Software Development: A progressive web application was developed to support real-time connectivity and recording functionality, utilizing Google Firestore and Cloud services for data storage.
  3. User-Centered Experience Design: Customizable time slots and avatars guide question generation; daily reflective prompts are provided.
  4. Field Study: A four-month field experiment was conducted to observe users' processes of recalling and recording in their daily lives.

Research Outcomes

• What specific outcomes were achieved?

  • During the four-month field study, three participants recorded a total of 213 past memories, covering various time periods and associating them with locations and individuals.
  • Using the "proud moments" framework, users were able to recall forgotten positive moments and learn to derive positive lessons from negative events.
  • The study widely observed "unintentional memory triggers," such as memories evoked by everyday objects or activities, which expanded the scope of recorded content.

• What advantages does it have compared to existing solutions?

  • Enhanced memory trigger efficiency: Reflective prompts and the device's physical interventions deepened users' memory recall.
  • Increased diversity of diary content: Users not only recorded recent events but also supplemented forgotten past experiences.
  • Reduced negative impact: Users learned to accept lessons from negative memories while deeply reflecting on positive ones.

• What were the experimental or evaluation results?
  Users recalled vague but extensive memories, which were concretized through personal reinterpretation. While the positive framework increased users' motivation to record, it occasionally triggered mixed emotions involving both positive and negative feelings.

• Limitations and Future Directions

  1. Small sample size: The study involved only three participants, limiting the generalizability of conclusions.
  2. Device form limitations: The current study focused on a desktop form; future work could explore other physical forms or fully digital designs.
  3. Limited exploration of mental health impacts: The adaptability of the "proud moments" framework for users with mental health challenges remains unclear.
  4. Future Directions:
     • Expand the user base, particularly to include individuals with mild mental health issues.
     • Provide a broader range of customizable reflective prompts.
     • Conduct larger-scale experimental studies to investigate clinical effects, such as emotional state improvement or psychological support.

Through this design, Rebulb not only influenced users' memory recall and recording behaviors but also triggered psychological reflection and personal growth. It offers new design directions and practical potential for human-computer interaction research focused on supporting personal memory and documentation.