Understanding Emotions in Design
Christian Jeremiah
Product Design | AI + UX | Design Strategy | Data & Behavioural Analysis.
Daniel, a senior product designer, faced the challenge of redesigning an outdated online banking app in a competitive market. Through user interviews, he discovered that for many users, the app was more than just a tool—it was tied to deep emotions like security, trust, and anxiety. One interview with an older woman highlighted how the app’s cold, impersonal and clustered design added stress to her already difficult situation of managing finances alone after her husband's passing. This realization shifted Daniel’s approach, leading him to focus on creating a design that would not only be functional but also emotionally supportive.
Inspired by this insight, Daniel guided his team to redesign the app with a focus on emotional engagement. They introduced warmer visuals, intuitive navigation, and features that provided reassurance during financial decisions, helping users feel secure and confident. The redesigned app resonated with users, transforming from a mere transactional tool into a trusted partner in their financial lives. This experience reinforced for Daniel that emotions play a critical role in product design, influencing user decisions and fostering deeper engagement and loyalty.
If emotions are the key ingredient to creating a memorable experience, then what are emotions? How are they created? How do emotions influence users' decisions??
What are Emotions??
When users interact with an app for the first time, the brain processes this new experience through both cognitive and emotional pathways. The initial engagement, maintaining the interaction and getting feedback are the critical roles that emotions play in granting a long term engagement by the user.
Emotions often precede rational thought, a trait deeply rooted in our brain's evolution. As emotional beings, our decisions are profoundly influenced by our feelings. The brain is composed of various evolutionary layers, each with its own function:
This article zeroes in on the limbic system, exploring how this ancient part of our brain plays an essential role in shaping user experiences.
Buckle up as we journey through the intersection of psychology and biology. Several theories have been proposed to explain how and why we experience emotions, and we’ll examine some of the most influential ones.
This theory suggests that emotions occur as a result of physiological reactions to events. According to this view, an event causes a physiological response, and your interpretation of this physical response leads to the experience of emotion. Example: Seeing a snake leads to a racing heart and sweating, which then causes the feeling of fear.
This theory argues that emotions and physiological reactions occur simultaneously but independently. When you encounter an emotional stimulus, the brain sends signals to the body and triggers an emotional experience at the same time. Example: Seeing a snake triggers both the feeling of fear and the physiological response (e.g., heart racing) at the same time.
According to this theory, emotion is based on two factors: physiological arousal and cognitive labeling of that arousal. When a physiological response occurs, the individual assesses the situation and labels the emotion based on the context. Example: Seeing a snake leads to an increased heart rate. If you interpret the situation as dangerous, you label the arousal as fear.
This theory suggests that emotions result from the appraisal (interpretation) of a situation. The way we assess a situation determines the type of emotional response we have. It emphasizes the role of cognitive processes in emotional experiences. Example: If you see a snake and interpret it as harmless, you might feel curiosity instead of fear.
This theory proposes that facial expressions can influence emotional experiences. The act of forming a facial expression can actually trigger the corresponding emotion. Smiling can make you feel happier, even if you were not feeling particularly happy before.
These theories suggest that emotions evolved because they were adaptive and helped humans survive. Emotions like fear, anger, and love have survival value, enhancing the ability to respond to challenges and opportunities in the environment. Example: Fear of snakes may have evolved because it helped our ancestors avoid dangerous animals.
Psychologist Paul Ekman proposed that there are a limited number of basic emotions that are universal across cultures. These basic emotions include happiness, sadness, fear, anger, surprise, and disgust, each with its own distinct facial expression. Example: A smile is universally recognized as an expression of happiness.
These theories, such as Lisa Feldman Barrett's "Theory of Constructed Emotion," argue that emotions are not universal but are constructed by individuals based on their cultural and personal experiences. Emotions are seen as predictions that the brain makes in response to sensory input and past experiences. Example: Different cultures might construct the concept of "anger" differently, leading to varied emotional experiences. These theories offer different perspectives on how emotions are generated and experienced, reflecting the complexity of human emotions.
Imagine a group of blindfolded people, each describing a different part of an elephant—they’re all correct, but each is only capturing a piece of the whole. What if the various theories of emotion are like that, each accurately describing a different aspect of emotions, shaped by different contexts and time periods? If we were to combine these perspectives, we could develop a more comprehensive understanding of emotions. This idea leads to the concept of an integrated theory of emotions, where multiple theories are unified to provide a deeper, more complete understanding.
Integrated theory of Emotions
The Integrated Theory of Emotion proposes that emotions emerge from a complex interaction between physiological arousal, cognitive appraisal, facial feedback, evolutionary adaptations, and cultural constructs. This holistic approach acknowledges the multifaceted nature of emotions, incorporating both the biological basis and the contextual factors that shape emotional experiences. Emotions are seen as adaptive responses that are both universal and individually constructed, deeply embedded in our nature as humans yet flexible enough to be influenced by our environment and experiences.
The Integrated Theory of Emotion describes how our feelings work by combining different parts of our experience: how our body reacts, how our brain interprets things, how our face shows emotions, and how we learn from others. Imagine encountering a big, friendly dog. First, your body might react by making your heart beat faster, signaling excitement or fear. Then, your brain evaluates the situation, determining whether the dog is friendly or not. If you decide the dog is friendly, you might smile, which can actually enhance your happiness. We also pick up cues from people around us—if they like dogs, we're more likely to feel positive about the dog too. Finally, emotions guide our actions, like avoiding danger if we feel scared.
This concept helps to combine the individual concepts to form a whole. This is crucial in product design because understanding how emotions work can help designers create products that resonate deeply with users. Just as our body, brain, and social environment shape our emotional responses, product designers must consider how a product will physically interact with the user, how it will be perceived cognitively, how it will be received socially, and how it can evoke positive emotional reactions.
For example, consider designing a new app. The body’s reaction might be the ease of use, how smoothly the app operates, with intuitive controls that feel satisfying. The brain’s role is in the user’s perception, how the app’s design communicates trust, efficiency, and aligns with the user’s goals. The face and body’s role is about the emotional expression the app brings out, does it make users smile, feel accomplished, or even laugh? Finally, the social learning aspect is about how the app encourages social sharing or fits into the user’s community norms, influencing how others view it. By understanding and leveraging the Integrated Theory of Emotion, designers can craft products that not only meet functional needs but also create meaningful emotional connections with users, leading to more successful and loved products.
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How are Emotions Created? And how this relates to product design/softwares.
Emotions are created through a dynamic process that starts with a triggering event, leading to physiological responses and cognitive appraisal, which then produce the emotional experience and guide behavioral responses. This process is influenced by social and cultural factors, making emotions a complex and multifaceted aspect of human life.
The limbic system, situated deep within the brain, plays a critical role in shaping our emotional response. It contains structures like the amygdala, hippocampus, hypothalamus and thalamus. When a first time user interacts with an app or website, a cascade of neural processes ensues? between the limbic system and neocortex.
Thalamus: The brain's relay station that transfers sensory information to the cortex. For a first time user, it transfers sensory inputs (sounds,sight, etc.) and sends them to the cortex for interpretation or analysis and this shapes the user’s initial perception.
Amygdala: Involved in emotional processing majorly fear and pleasure. During a first time experience, the Amygdala evaluates the significance of the emotion and this influences the initial apprehension or excitement.
Hippocampus: Responsible for creating new memories and helps users recall their new experience.
Hypothalamus: It controls physiological responses like heart rate and stress hormones.
Prefrontal cortex: Responsible for Decision-making and moderating social behavior. It enables users to make informed decisions about their actions.
Reward System(VTA and NAc): The ventral tegmental area and nucleus accumbens are key components of the brain's reward system. They control pleasure and reward by releasing dopamine that reinforces a pleasurable experience.
Neurotransmitters are chemicals that regulate emotions. Key ones include dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin.?
Dopamine: The "reward chemical" is linked to pleasure and motivation. It’s released during enjoyable activities, encouraging goal achievement and repeated actions.
Serotonin: Often called the "happiness neurotransmitter," serotonin is linked to well-being and contentment. It’s released when we feel safe and secure, helping to regulate our mood.
Oxytocin: The "love hormone" is released during close social interactions, promoting trust and reducing stress.
Skip the biology lessons, now what does this mean in product design. When a first-time user interacts with the Airbnb mobile app, the brain's limbic system plays a key role in shaping their emotional response. The thalamus processes sensory information, like the app's design and layout, helping the user form an initial impression. If the interface is visually appealing and easy to navigate, it sets a positive tone. The amygdala then evaluates these emotions, influencing whether the user feels excitement or apprehension as they explore the app.
As the user continues, the hippocampus helps create and store memories of the experience, which can influence whether they return to the app. The prefrontal cortex aids in decision-making, such as choosing a listing, while the brain's reward system releases dopamine when the user finds a desirable property, reinforcing the positive experience. These brain processes highlight how thoughtful design in apps like AirBnB creates a user-friendly experience that feels rewarding and satisfying, encouraging continued use.
How Does Emotion Influence Users Decisions?
When a user is said to make emotional decisions, it means that the user's decisions are based on feelings of similar past experience(s). When a user makes an emotional decision on the Uber mobile app, it means their choice is influenced by previous feelings and experiences rather than detailed analysis. For instance, if a user has had multiple bad experiences with a certain type of ride, like Uber Pool, they might instinctively think, "I didn’t enjoy Uber Pool before, so I'll choose UberX this time." This quick decision is based on their emotional memory, allowing them to make a choice without needing to carefully weigh all the options.
Two Paths to Decision-Making: Emotional (less effort) vs. Logical (more effort).
How can designers rewrite negative emotions in a user's experience?
Imagine the user comes with a four bar battery of emotion for a new experience, and each time they experience something negative the battery drops a certain amount depending on the intensity. Here the design thinking approach comes to play;
Conclusion
In conclusion, emotions are not merely subjective experiences but are deeply rooted in our biology and shaped by our cognitive processes, social interactions, and cultural contexts. By understanding the science behind emotions and applying these insights to design, we can create products that not only meet functional needs but also resonate with users on an emotional level, fostering deeper engagement, loyalty, and satisfaction. As designers continue to strive for excellence in user experience, a focus on emotions will undoubtedly be a key factor in creating products that truly stand out and leave a lasting impression.