USING PERSONAL COMPUTERS AT HOME: RELATING TO THE COMPUTER, PERCEIVED CONTROL, AND TYPES OF USERS.
Item
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Title
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USING PERSONAL COMPUTERS AT HOME: RELATING TO THE COMPUTER, PERCEIVED CONTROL, AND TYPES OF USERS.
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Identifier
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AAI8713772
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identifier
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8713772
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Creator
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LERER, NAVA.
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Contributor
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Charles Kadushin
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Date
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1987
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Psychology, Social
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Abstract
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Personal computers (pc) which are affordable for individual use, are a relatively recent innovation. Three of the major issues discussed in the literature were investigated in this study: relations to the computer (feelings, images, and areas of interest), respondents' report of perceived control, and computer related behaviors. The present study focuses on individuals who use personal computers (IBM or IBM compatible) at home. They were surveyed using a questionnaire written on a computer diskette.;Feelings while working on the computer were combined into a scale ranging from positive to negative. Three central images of the computer were found by using factor analysis: "person" (partner, thinker, friend, similar to people), "limited" (limited, useless, unpredictable) and servant (only one item). Cluster analysis of computer-related behaviors and self rating of expertise produced five meaningful user types: "very involved" users who were knowledgeable about computers, use computers for most applications, many belong to user groups and use computerized bulletin boards; "experienced" users who were also quite knowledgeable but are not as involved; "inexperienced enthusiasts" who had intermediate expertise, used computers mainly for finance, but liked spending time on the computer, and many belonged to user groups; "math and science" users with intermediate expertise, used the computer mainly for work, and were not as enthusiastic and involved as the previous three groups; "not involved" users who used their pc mostly for word-processing.;Issues of interpersonal control were not found to be related to feelings, images, or user types. Personal efficacy was generally related to positive relations to the computer. While all users were satisfied with their pc, the more experienced and enthusiastic users perceived the computer positively and personified it, and the least experienced and involved users had more negative perceptions and perceived the computer as a limited entity.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
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Program
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Psychology
