Designing for self-reflection on values for improved life decision

Taking important life decisions is a complex task leading to long-lasting consequences. It requires balancing one's own needs and those of other stakeholders. Current digital decision support focuses little on the human decision-making capabilities. Systems are designed as analytic tools to find optimal outcomes assuming stable and known preferences. However, insights from psychology and behavioral decision research show that people construct preferences during an adaptive decision-making process and are less rational than assumed by current tools. It has been suggested that a stronger focus on personal values could lead to improved decision making, but reflection on values is difficult for people. This paper presents a first exploration of how to aid people in reflecting on their values. It serves as a starting point to develop digital value-focused decision support tools. We describe the design of a probe for value reflection and several studies with experts and end-users that led to a first set of considerations for such tools. © 2013 The Author 2013. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The British Computer Society. All rights reserved.