ABSTRACT
New reflective systems are making it increasingly easier to make rich records of everyday activities and later reflect on these records. While these systems and other reflective tools such as Facebook Timeline are becoming more popular, few systematic studies have investigated their effects. Our work uses a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods to demonstrate short and long-term well-being benefits of reflection and identifies two different mechanisms that mediate these benefits. We also describe new work visualizing emotional habits. Our findings have important therapeutic implications, and suggest that reflective systems support natural adaptive memory processes.
Personal Informatics Workshop- CHI 2013