A Framework for the Experience of Meaning in Human-Computer Interaction

The view of quality in human-computer interaction continuously develops, having in past decades included consistency, transparency, usability, and positive emotions. Recently, meaning is receiving increased interest in the user experience literature and in industry, referring to the end, purpose or significance of interaction with computers. However, the notion of meaning remains elusive and a bewildering number of senses are in use. We present a framework of meaning in interaction, based on a synthesis of psychological meaning research. The framework outlines five distinct senses of the experience of meaning: connectedness, purpose, coherence, resonance, and significance. We illustrate the usefulness of the framework by analyzing a selection of recent papers at the CHI conference and by raising a series of open research questions about the interplay of meaning, user experience, reflection, and well-being.