1.4. METODOLOGÍA PARA EL DESARROLLO DEL PROYECTO
1.4.5. PLANTEAMIENTO DEL PROBLEMA
When investigating the factors that influence mobile phone usage, the user’s motivation for using the phone deserves consideration. According to Geser [2004], psychological factors are important in shaping the more private uses of mobile phones, while social and cultural factors affect the interactional and social institutional uses of mobile phones.
Qualasvirta [2005] states that need-finding, i.e. the discovery of user’s motivational needs, is a fundamental technology adoption requirement. Since human needs last longer than any specific solution, it is better to use needs as a roadmap for design rather than to focus new design on solving perceived problems.
Human needs are the links between the provisions and demands of the social world and people’s tendencies to realize or refute these needs [Deci and Ryan, 2000]. Lindgren [1969] states that in the field of clinical psychology and personality theory a need is defined as a deficit, the lack of something vital and important to the organism. Psychological needs are then an extension of this idea, except that psychological needs are generally not considered crucial [Lindgren, 1969]. Deci and Ryand [2000] maintain that psychologists see needs either as a set of innate physiological drivers which must be satisfied for the organism to remain healthy, or as psychological and acquired.
At this point there is little agreement on the definition of basic human needs [Huitt, 2004]. For the purpose of this study the concept of a need is defined as something that moves a person to action. This means that motive or desire can be substituted for need without losing meaning. While this approach may be too coarse for psychologists in general [Lindgren, 1969; Steverink and Lindenberg, 2006], it is suitable for this study in the context of mobile phone use.
A model for representing the motivational and cultural factors that influence mobile phone usage variety 34 Steverink & Lindenberg [2006] state that goals and resources have a lower place in the hierarchy than needs since they are the tools through which needs are fulfilled. According to Deci & Ryan [2000], the interest in goals has taken precedence over needs in empirical psychology. Nevertheless, they maintain that ‘a consideration of basic psychological needs provides a basis for predicting when the efficient pursuit and attainment of goals will lead to positive performance and well-being outcomes’ [Deci and Ryan, 2000]. Therefore it is useful to consider motivational needs as a point of departure in trying to understand the factors that influence mobile phone usage.
Various theories are used to model human needs in the context of motivation. One of the first was a system of motivational needs proposed in 1954 by Maslow [1954], which was later expanded [Maslow, 1971; Maslow and Lowery, 1998] to a total of eight levels of human needs. In this model needs build on each other with higher-level needs emerging as lower-level needs are mostly or entirely satisfied. The hierarchy of needs, as depicted in Figure 3.1, includes the following [Maslow, 1971; Simons et al., 1987; Verma, 1995; Maslow and Lowery, 1998; Huitt, 2004]:
• Physiological: including biological needs such as hunger and thirst, bodily comfort such as clothes, shelter, etc., i.e. requiring coping information.
• Safety and security: including security for one’s own person and possessions, avoiding risk, harm and pain, keeping out of danger, i.e. requiring helping information.
• A sense of belonging, affection and love: including social and affiliation needs, companionship, acceptance, group membership, i.e. requiring enlightening information.
• Esteem (both self-esteem and esteem the person gets from others): including self-respect, responsibility, recognition, sense of accomplishment, competence and equity, i.e. requiring empowering information.
• Cognitive: including the need to know and understand, and to explore, i.e. requiring edifying information.
• Aesthetic: including the need for beauty, symmetry and order, i.e. also requiring edifying information.
• Self-realization: including the need to find self-fulfilment and realize one's potential, doing what one was ‘born to do’, i.e. also requiring edifying information.
• Self-transcendence: including the need to connect to something beyond the ego or to help others find self-fulfilment and realize their potential.
The holistic, dynamic view of motivational needs contained in Maslow’s theory thus represents needs as interdependent subsets in a process leading to self-actualisation and transcendence [Chung, 1969]. This theory is useful in presenting the fact that needs are related and that one type of behaviour may satisfy a set of needs. Over the years Maslow’s model of a hierarchy of needs has been criticised for different reasons, among which are the following [Chung, 1969; Yang, 2003; Huitt, 2004; Maslow, 2006]:
A model for representing the motivational and cultural factors that influence mobile phone usage variety 35 • The order of needs in the hierarchy varies from individual to individual and especially across
cultures.
• The movement of needs from one level to another is a tendency, not a certainty, and a modification in a person’s goals could affect the need structure.
• The concept of self-actualization is considered vague by some behavioural psychologists and assumes that people have an optimum role or purpose.
• It is difficult to put the construct of self-actualisation into operation and this makes it difficult to test Maslow's theory. However, this criticism is not considered to be valid by people who regard experimentation as inappropriate to the study of human behaviour.
Figure 3.1: Maslow’s hierarchy of motivational needs
•
Despite the criticism, Maslow’s theory on motivational needs enjoys wide acceptance and has become one of the most popular and often cited theories of human motivation [AllExperts, 2006]. The following
Transcendence
Self-actualisation
Personal growth and fulfillment
Aesthetic
Cognitive
Esteem
Achievement, status, responsibility, reputation
Belongingness
Family, affection, relationships, work group, etc.
Safety and security
Protection, security, order, law, limits, stability, etc.
Psychological
Basic life needs – air, food, drink, shelter, warmth, sex, sleep, etc.
Transcendence
Self-actualisation
Personal growth and fulfillment
Aesthetic
Cognitive
Esteem
Achievement, status, responsibility, reputation
Belongingness
Family, affection, relationships, work group, etc.
Safety and security
Protection, security, order, law, limits, stability, etc.
Psychological
A model for representing the motivational and cultural factors that influence mobile phone usage variety 36 are recent examples of studies referring to Maslow’s model, two of which include references to mobile phones:
• Yang [2003] who addresses the problems of a one-dimensional, linear hierarchy and cross-cultural validity in Maslow’s model by proposing a revised Y-shaped model, structured as follows:
o The needs on the stem of the Y are Maslow's physiological needs (excluding sexual needs) and
the safety needs and satisfaction of these needs are Yang’s contribution.
o The needs on the left arm of the Y are the interpersonal and sense of belonging needs, esteem
needs, and the self-realization need, leading to genetic expression when fulfilled.
o The needs on the right arm of the Y are sexual needs, childbearing needs and parenting needs,
resulting in genetic transmission when satisfied.
The framework therefore integrates biological and cultural determinants on basic motivational states and propensities.
• Katz & Sugiyama [2005] who note the similarity between the desire for power and security as embodied by mobile phones and the need for safety and security in Maslow’s model.
• Schiphorst [2006] who links the drive towards incorporating tactile feedback and the notion of affection in mobile phone design with Maslow’s needs.
Various other models of human needs have been suggested. Ryan & Deci [2000] suggest three needs, namely the need for autonomy, the need for competence and the need for relatedness, but do not suggest any hierarchy.
The Institute for Management Excellence [1997] proposes another set of needs and highlights both positive and negative ways in which people can work to meet these needs. They claim that each person has three primary needs, followed by six secondary needs, but this hierarchy depends on the individual. The needs are as follows:
• Security: the need to feel safe and to feel secure about the future.
• Adventure: the need for new experiences and to experience a sense of anticipation.
• Freedom: the need for independence and spontaneity, to have choices and the control over such choices.
• Exchange: the need to trade information and knowledge with others. This is about value exchange and not about socializing.
• Power: the need to organize and lead.
• Expansion: the need to expand one’s horizons.
• Acceptance: the need to accept yourself and be accepted by others.
• Community: the need to socialize and have people around.
A model for representing the motivational and cultural factors that influence mobile phone usage variety 37 Kankainen and Titta [2003] distinguish between two types of human needs, namely motivational needs and action needs. Motivational needs are subdivided into basic needs encompassing physiological, psychological and social needs, while action needs refer to more ephemeral, contextually induced needs [Kankainen and Titta, 2003].
This corresponds to Herzberg’s [1968] classification in the field of industrial psychology. He distinguishes between factors that are referred to as motivational and those called ‘hygiene factors’. In an organisational context, hygiene factors are necessary to meet physiological, safety and social needs in the workplace (as identified by Maslow [1954; 1971; 1998]) while motivational needs will encourage job satisfaction and appeal to the human needs of growth and self-advancement [Verma, 1995]. Verma [Verma, 1995] mapped Herzberg’s factors with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and the result of this mapping is illustrated in Figure 3.2. The hygiene factors map to the lower-level needs, while the motivators map to the higher-level needs of esteem and self-realization.
Figure 3.2 Mapping Herberg’s needs to Maslow’s adapted from Verma [Verma, 1995]
Inspired by Herzberg’s motivator-hygiene theory, Noriaki Kano (a Japanese researcher) and his co- workers developed the Kano analysis [Löfgren and Witell, 2005]. The Kano analysis is based on the theory of attractive quality which is used to classify and prioritize customer requirements based on the way they affect customer satisfaction [Jokela, 2004].
Self Actualization
Needs
Social /Affiliation needs
Safety / Security needs
Physiological needs . Esteem needs Self Actualization Needs
Social /Affiliation needs
Safety / Security needs
Physiological needs .
Self Actualization
Needs
Social /Affiliation needs
Safety / Security needs
Physiological needs .
Esteem needs
¾Involvement in planning your work ¾Opportunity for development ¾Creative work
¾Freedom to make decisions ¾Status symbols
¾Recognition, awards ¾Challenging work
¾Opportunity for advancement ¾Sharing decision making
¾Opportunity to interact ¾Team-based work ¾Friendly co-workers
¾Fringe benefits ¾Job security
¾Sound policies and practices ¾Proper supervision
¾Safe working conditions
¾Adequate compensation ¾Rest periods
¾Labor-saving devices ¾Efficient work methods
A model for representing the motivational and cultural factors that influence mobile phone usage variety 38 Kano[1984; 1996] identified three types of needs that all customers have, consciously or unconsciously, as illustrated in Figure 3.2:
• Basic needs: The basic functions or features that customers generally expect of a product or service. When absent there is customer dissatisfaction, which can result in complaints or lost business. When fulfilled, these attributes play a role in customer neutrality, i.e. customer satisfaction above the neutral level cannot be achieved by fulfilling only these needs.
• Performance needs: The characteristics directly correlated to customer satisfaction. The better these functions or features perform, the greater the level of customer satisfaction, while decreased functionality results in greater dissatisfaction. Product price is often related to these attributes.
• Excitement needs: The features or functions that delight and excite customers. This involves the unspoken or unexpected needs of the customer, and if satisfied will contribute to high levels of satisfaction. Satisfaction will, however, not drop below neutral if the product lacks the feature. Kano suggested that there are five types of product characteristics or attributes which he classified as follows [Löfgren and Witell, 2005; Parker, 2006]:
• Attractive: 'Surprise and delight' factors – the characteristics that make your product exceptional and have a dramatic impact on customer satisfaction. For example, going beyond the button paradigm of interaction and using haptic (tactile) means of feedback towards affectionate computing [Schiphorst, 2006]. Due to advances in technology and user expectations, a specific feature may progress from ‘surprise and delight’ to ‘must be’ over a period of time. For example, SMS started as an attractive feature and now it is accepted as a ‘must be’ feature.
• One-dimensional: ‘More is better' – the characteristics that improve customer satisfaction with a linear impact upon it. Bina & Giaglis [2005] found mobile data services to be a ‘nice-to- have’ feature where ‘nice-to-have’ has the same value level as ‘more is better’. The satisfaction increases linearly with the availability of the attribute
• 'Must have' or ‘must be’- the minimum characteristics that every product should have. They result in satisfaction when fulfilled and without these characteristics customers will be dissatisfied. For example, a mobile phone is currently expected to have SMS capability.
• Reverse quality: 'Dissatisfiers’ are characteristics that may make your product unpopular if not fulfilled, e.g. the omission of basic expected functionality such as SMS on a mobile phone. However, ‘dissatisfiers’ also refer to attributes where a high degree of achievement may result in dissatisfaction while for another customer the same high degree will result in satisfaction. An example is the technology orientation of a product. Some users prefer high technology, while others do not.
• Indifferent quality refers to aspects that do not result in either satisfaction or dissatisfaction since they are neither good nor bad. For example, the inclusion of e-services is currently an indifferent quality to many users but it may progress to a ‘must be’ as technology, services and user expectations change.
A model for representing the motivational and cultural factors that influence mobile phone usage variety 39 Figure 3.3: Quality factors based on the model of the Institute for Manufacturing [2006]
The effect of an increase in the attractive quality, more-is-better and must-be features can be presented graphically as depicted in Figure 3.3. For more-is-better features there is a linear relationship but for attractive quality and must-be factors, the relationship is not linear.
Human needs have also been studied from a technology, and specifically a mobile phone, perspective. The studies by Katz & Sugiyama [2005] and Schiphorst [2006] have already been mentioned. In the context of technology adoption and use, hygiene factors make the technology functional and serviceable in the sense that their absence will cause dissatisfaction [Zhang and von Dran, 2000]. Motivational factors add value to a product and contribute to user satisfaction [Zhang and von Dran, 2000].
People use products such as mobile phones to fulfil perceived needs and the usability of the product is measured by the extent to which it fulfils these needs [Jenson, 2004; Jokela, 2004]. ‘Mobility, immediacy and instrumentality are key reasons for the use of mobile phones and supported by secondary factors of
Dissatisfaction Delight Absent Quality or Performance not achieved Exiteme nt need s (Delig hters) Perfo rman ce n eeds (mor e is bet ter) (Neutral) Basic need s (Mus t hav es)
A model for representing the motivational and cultural factors that influence mobile phone usage variety 40 sociability and affection’ [Han Sze Tjong et al., 2003]. Tamminen et al. [2004] identify three kinds of motivational needs relating to mobile telephony:
• Personal needs, which include privacy and security.
• Navigation or way-finding needs born of a need to know or optimise.
• Social needs, which reflect an awareness of changes in schedule and social activities. Ling and Yttri [1999] identified three ‘purposes’ for using mobile phones, namely:
• Safety and security, e.g. calling for help in emergencies.
• Micro-coordination refers to the use of mobile phones for logistical purposes.
• Hyper-coordination refers to the use of a mobile phone for self-presentation and personal expression.
The difference between needs and purposes will not be debated here but it is worth noting that safety and security purposes map directly to a level in Maslow’s needs hierarchy, micro-coordination is used to support social needs, while hyper-coordination maps to esteem and self-actualisation needs.
According to Katz & Sugiyama [2005], mobile phones are strongly connected with human perceptions of power, status and identity. Power and security are also important attributes on a psychological and interpersonal level, as argued by Maslow, among other psychologists [Katz and Sugiyama, 2005].
This suggests that some of the basic psychological and social needs identified in motivational needs literature also emerge in mobile phone usage. If mobile phone usage needs can be related to basic human needs, the latter can provide guidance in the design and selection of mobile phones.
This literature overview on motivational human needs leads one to the conclusion that motivational needs influence the way people perceive and use mobile phones. The link between mobile phones and Maslow’s hierarchy has been noted [Katz and Sugiyama, 2005; Schiphorst, 2006] but since no attempt has been made to explore it or substantiate it, this study will investigate the link between motivational human needs and mobile phone usage variety.