That’s Not What We Expected: Examining Technology Expectations and Malfunctions on Frustration

Abstract

Technology malfunctions and expectations for technology performance influence user attitudes and behaviors regarding that technology. An empirical study explored how these factors interact to influence attitudes and performance on a task when exposed to a malfunction and certain expectations for technology performance. Unlike previous research, an interaction was found between malfunction and expectation such that individuals exposed to a malfunction with high expectations were more likely to complain about the incident to the responsible company. This is especially informative for industry customer service as it informs why users complain and what product features should be addressed to remedy the issues.

Accessibility first: detecting frustration in web browsing for visually impaired and sighted smartphone users

“…Similarly, in the news task, participants were initially surprised by the first ad occurrence but systematically closed subsequent ads without waiting for loading. These observations align with the concept of priming, where prior information unconsciously influences behavior [76,77]. Participants' low expectations of technology performance in these tasks reduced their susceptibility to frustration compared to those with high expectations [78].…”

Individual Differences in Frustration and Performance with Online Shopping Activities

“…Consistent with previous literature, the current study expanded on the work of Ferreri and Mayhorn (2021) by adding an examination of individual differences modeled after the findings from Hadlington and Scase (2018). We examined what individual differences exist, specifically regarding personality traits, not only in responses to technology failures, but in performance of a task involving a technology failure as well.…”

“…Stimuli. The expectation scripts were modeled after those used by Ferreri & Mayhorn (2021) and described the shopping website in such a way to prime participants to have high, low, or no expectations regarding its performance. The scripts were identical with the exception of the words and phrases used to describe the shopping website in the desired way.…”

“…The malfunction manipulation was also modeled after that of Ferreri & Mayhorn (2021), such that participants worked through three scenarios; two of which without a malfunction present and the third with a malfunction present. This created the malfunction present vs. absent manipulation.…”

“…Those primed to have higher expectations of the system's capabilities were less willing to recommend the system after using it, as they were more disappointed with the actual product functionality. Ferreri & Mayhorn (2021) explored the combined effects of malfunction and expectation. In their study, they examined how the presence of a technology malfunction interacted with expectations of that technology's functionality concerning user frustration and performance.…”