Human Factors Psychology Report: Smart Home App for Older Adults

This report delves into the realm of human factors psychology, specifically addressing the challenges and opportunities associated with developing a smart home application tailored for elderly individuals. The study focuses on SMARTHAUS4U, a company aiming to create an app that caters to the unique needs of older adults, considering factors such as safety, mobility issues, and medical conditions. It explores the concept of technology acceptance, highlighting the psychological barriers that elderly people often face when adopting new technologies. The report examines the psychological impact of technology on aging individuals, including their perceptions of device complexity, self-confidence in using new devices, and reliance on medical technologies. The conclusion emphasizes the importance of addressing these human factors to ensure the successful implementation and acceptance of the smart home app among its target demographic, suggesting that SMARTHAUS4U needs to consider and overcome psychological constraints to gain the trust and reliance of elderly users.

Running Head: HUMAN FACTORS PYSCHOLOGY
Human Factors Psychology
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Introduction
With the change in demography all around the world, the business trends of technological
advancements change. People like to use new technology but are bounded by their level of
acceptance and their ability to use the new gadgets. The main challenge for the new
technological companies is to make gadgets or applications which can be used by people who are
in their late 60’s and are at the age or retirement (Lee, 2017). Young people have started using
these technologies from the time when they are inkindergarten but elderly have to learn the new
functions. The following report is about the human factors psychology in relation with a smart
home company SMARTHAUS4U who wants to develop a smart home app for older people
considering their special need of safety, mobility problems and medical conditions.
Technological Acceptance
Acceptance of technology is known to be the approval, successful reception and
continuous use of the services and devices which discovers the relation between the motives of
end-users and their attitudes which may be cognitive and effective in adapting to new changes.
Technology acceptance has been majorly seen among the young adult who is working on the
base of new technology systems (Comunello, Mulargia & Belotti, 2017). But the older people
are still not so much familiar with the new technology as they have psychological blockages that
the new systems is not meant for them and they have a comfort zone from which they do not
want to get out.
Another factor is the acceptance of medical technologies which is still in question as
people around the world think that medical technologies are oriented around the older people
who are commonly ill (Mertens, 2017). They are prone to diseases which are caused by

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increasing age. Older people are not willing to be dependent on the medical technology as they
have less faith in them and are inclined to use the conventional manual methods for their safety
and mobility problems.
One more prominent factor in creating a smart home app is that the hardware for its
monitoring is installed and deployed in the walls of homes, furniture and clothes which the older
people wear to monitor their movements and for the ease of access. These factors of surveillance
compromises the personal space of the patient or the user. The new device over step their
intimacy and privacy and generates a sense of loss of control on their personal lives
(SalehzadehNiksirat, Silpasuwanchai & Wang, 2017). With the use of technology and gadgets in
day to day lives of the older people for their health, safety and mobility, they tend to feel that
they are completely dependent on the technological tools for their daily chores. Contradiction is
there in this thought as some elderly people think that technology has made them independent of
other people and they do not want any manual support for live their lives. But the number of
such people is considerably less.
Psychological Impact of Technology on Ageing People
By observing from the various studies done on the older people and their level of
acceptance of the changing technology, it was found that the older adults face huge difficulties
when they have to use the modern technology. There have new developments in the human
centered designs of PDA devices which can significantly reduce the complexities which elder
people face in using the new technology (Woll & Bratteteig, 2017). It is quite evident that older
people have less level of acceptance for the new devices may it be a smartphone or other device
of personal use. They have less knowledge about the functioning of the devices and they feel
very hesitant in approaching towards the new technology. Since they have lower knowledge

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about the modern technology it is due to the reason that they have a completely different
understanding about the functioning of the devices which keeps them from using them. Their
mental stigma is too outdated and they perceive things as the conventional methods which they
have built in their minds over the years (Santana-Mancilla & Anido-Rifón, 2017).
Older adults gained their education when the technological devices were not invented and
the machines that they used were far less complex for them as compared to the new devices.
Therefore they have much less experience in using them which is a grate cause for their
hesitation.Older adults have very low self-confidence for using the new technology devices as
they feel that if they use them then the device will malfunction and they can destroy these
expensive devices (Fornara & Manca, 2017). There have been a difference in opinion about the
reliability of the medical technologies among different age groups of people. Young adults are fa
more convinced that the medical technologies can be of much help for ailments which hamper
the safety and mobility of a person as they have that level of reliance on the new medical
technology (Schmidt & Kampmeier, 2017). But in the case of older adults, they feel that being
completely dependent on the new technology products of medical care is not reliable for them
and this produces ambivalent feelings inside them which keeps them at bay from using the
modern technology. These reasons are partly genuine and justified from the perspective of the
older adults as one cannot use and be completely dependent on the products whom they do not
trust.
Conclusion
It can be concluded here that, SMARTHAUS4U, a modern technology company which
wants to develop a smart home app for the safety andmobility of the older adults has to go
through a lot for making a place in hearts of the elderly people as there is a very low level of

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technological acceptance among them due to various psychological constraints which are
discussed in the above report. It is a very nice sentiment of the SMARTHAUS4U that the
product will cater to the needs of the elderly who cannot do all things of their daily chores by
themselves due to their age but people who tend to use them should also be convinced to the
extent so that they can completely rely on the modern day tools. It can thus be concluded that
there are many human factors of psychology which will come in the way of SMARTHAUS4U to
realize this project.

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References
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