Constructing the Thermal Affective Design Space for Emotion Regulation: An Autoethnographic Research Through Design Inquiry

Paper Title

Constructing the Thermal Affective Design Space for Emotion Regulation: An Autoethnographic Research Through Design Inquiry

Publication Info

• Topic area: Thermal interaction design for emotion regulation
• Keywords: Thermal cues, emotion regulation, autoethnography, Research through Design (RtD), affective interaction, design space, multisensory technology, thermal actuators, introspection, mental well-being

Background and Problem

• Problem / challenge: The design space for thermal technologies supporting emotion regulation is underexplored and lacks systematic frameworks. Existing approaches often treat temperature simplistically, ignoring contextual and individual differences, and rely on limited interaction patterns (e.g., binary on/off).
• Significance: Emotion regulation is critical for mental well-being, and thermal stimuli hold unique potential as expressive, affective design materials. Addressing this gap could enhance the design of technologies for mental health and well-being.
• Motivation and related work: Previous studies have linked thermal stimuli to affective states and explored their use in HCI. However, these efforts often fail to account for the dynamic, situated, and multisensory nature of thermal experiences. Empirical and theoretical barriers persist, including difficulties in capturing subjective experiences and translating them into actionable design parameters.

Solution

• Proposed approach: Development of a structured design space for thermal affective technologies through an 18-month autoethnographic Research through Design (RtD) inquiry.
• Novelty:
  1. A systematically constructed design space connecting affective experiences to design parameters, engineering technologies, and physical configurations.
  2. Insights into the process of creating intermediate-level knowledge through iterative design and reflection.
  3. Demonstration of how autoethnographic RtD surfaces rich, first-person insights for designing affective technologies.
• Procedure and key techniques:
  • Autoethnographic RtD combining therapeutic emotion regulation practices with iterative prototyping.
  • Development of three design cases (Tomato, Clare, and Window) exploring thermal cues for intentional regulation, retrospective reflection, and mindful attunement.
  • Use of design space schema to structure and refine design decisions, linking experiential qualities to technical implementations.

Results

• Concrete findings:
  • A design space with four overlapping components: Affective Experience, Design Parameters, Engineering Technology, and Physical Configuration.
  • Temporal features (e.g., duration, rhythm, rate of change) and body location significantly shape thermal cues' affective impact.
  • Translation between experiential qualities and technical parameters requires iterative adjustment and designerly know-how.
• Advantage over baselines:
  • Moves beyond binary (hot/cold, on/off) thermal interactions to support nuanced, adaptive, and context-sensitive designs.
  • Integrates first-person insights, addressing gaps in second- and third-person methods for studying emotion regulation.
• Experiments / evaluation:
  • Three design cases were iteratively developed and tested by the first author:
    • Tomato: Thermal anchors for intentional regulation with abrupt, attention-grabbing cues.
    • Clare: Gentle thermal companionship for reflective practices.
    • Window: Rhythmic thermal cues for mindful attunement during meditation.
  • Data sources included journals, sketches, memos, and reflective writings.
• Limitations and future work:
  • Limited exploration of thermal actuators due to availability constraints.
  • Need for more accessible, customizable thermal components and translational design toolkits.
  • Future work could extend findings through micro-phenomenological studies, multidisciplinary workshops, and open-source toolkits.

Summary

This paper presents a structured design space for thermal affective technologies, developed through an 18-month autoethnographic Research through Design process. The design space integrates four components—Affective Experience, Design Parameters, Engineering Technology, and Physical Configuration—highlighting the iterative translation between experiential qualities and technical implementations. Three design cases illustrate how thermal cues can support emotion regulation practices, such as intentional regulation, reflection, and mindfulness. The findings emphasize the importance of temporal features, body location, and designerly know-how in shaping affective interactions. While focused on emotion regulation, the design space and methodological insights have broader applicability for thermal interaction design and experience-focused HCI research.