01 · JOURNAL ARTICLE
Understanding preference: a meta-analysis of user studies
Morten Hertzum
International Journal of Human-Computer Studies · 2025
The finding or development
The systems people prefer are more consistently associated with lower workload than with faster task completion. A synthesis of 144 studies challenges the habit of treating preference as a secondary usability measure.
What supports it
Peer-reviewed meta-analysis · 144 studies
Reviewed: University repository abstract and publication record
Why it matters for design
Include workload and preference alongside task success and time. Do not assume a faster interface is necessarily the one people want to use.
Read with this in mind
The included tasks were almost entirely utilitarian. Associations do not establish causation; transfer to playful or expressive experiences needs testing. This brief is based on the abstract, not a full methodological appraisal.
Original source
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhcs.2024.103408
Opens the publisher outside this reading room. If nothing opens, copy the source address below.
Reference tools · Paperpile & more
Using Paperpile? Open the original source above, then use the Paperpile extension to save it to your library. Its inline buttons appear on supported websites.
Paperpile’s browser extension guide (opens an external website)Or download the original reference and import the file into Paperpile, Zotero or EndNote. Check the details against the source before citing.
Citation details are requested from Crossref when you download. The file contains a reference, not the full paper.
The complete UX Observatory brief is reproduced above. Publisher articles remain available through their source links.