Exploring the Understanding of Semantic Differentials to Measure User Experience with Children and Adolescents - First Findings and Recommendations for UX Testing

This paper explores the use of semantic differentials in evaluating interactive products from the user's perspective, focusing on children and adolescents. While semantic differentials have been widely utilized in assessing user experience (UX) among adults, their application to younger target groups remains underexplored. Existing studies develop and validate questionnaires with semantic differentials for assessing UX in children, but challenges remain in understanding how adolescents evaluate products using this method and identifying potential error sources. The study aims to gain a comprehensive understanding of how children and adolescents interpret semantic differentials in product evaluation, particularly in usability testing scenarios. The study shows that children and adolescents' comprehension of semantic differentials in UX questionnaires is affected by product characteristics and individual usage context, not just vocabulary. Analysis across class levels and product types identified error sources in interpreting semantic differentials for UX testing. Involving young individuals in shaping or selecting UX dimensions for questionnaires is crucial for ensuring their relevance and effectiveness.