Flourish seeks to provide tools for highly sensitive individuals to navigate intense stress and pressure, enhance productivity, prioritize self-care and their overall well-being.


Why Does It Matter?
According to studies, around 31% of the whole population of the world are highly sensitive (or orchids), which is a lot.






Diary Study  

Diary Study is one of the best methods for this subject.  Because this method gives rich qualitative data about user concerns, behaviors, mindsets, and pain points. I went through the process of sampling the users, but by one of the laws at Penn State, I needed to go through a process (IRB). Due to time restrictions, I had to choose another research method.



Expert Study  
Since the subject matter is complex, the insights of an expert in this field can be helpful. So I designed some unstructured semi-structured questions for a psychologist interview, to have a general understanding of the user characteristics and needs. The insights driven from that 30 min interview are listed below:


— Sensitive to lights, sounds, caffeine, and medications
— Often feel overwhelmed in crowded places  
— Heavily affected by others' emotions and actions  
— Most HSPs are introverts, but extroverts can also be highly sensitive  
— Struggle with change Frequently hear comments like "You are too sensitive"
— Deeply appreciate beauty and art, with a strong attention to detail  
— Strong reactions to violence and movies  
— Difficulty handling pressure and multiple tasks
— Need more downtime to recharge due to highly active brains





Benchmarking Similar Apps  
There are countless applications associated with mental health issues. Similar applications are generally designed to boost productivity or mindfulness, reduce anxiety, cognitive behavioral therapy, create healthy habits, and so on.


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Secondary Research 
Is This a Real Thing?

Psychologists Elaine and Arthur Aron coined "Highly Sensitive Person" in the mid-1990s. Elaine Aron's book, The Highly Sensitive Person, was published in 1996, sparking ongoing interest in the trait. This case study focuses on understanding users' thoughts and feelings, drawing on some aspects of these studies. 





Sensory Processing Sensitivity (SPS) is a personality trait characterized by increased sensitivity of the central nervous system and deeper cognitive processing of physical, social, and emotional stimuli. Individuals with high SPS, or highly sensitive people (HSPs), show significant variations in sensitivity to both positive and negative environments. This heritable and evolutionarily conserved trait can increase the risk for stress-related issues in stressful situations but also enhances the benefits of supportive and positive experiences (Boterberg and Warreyn, 2016; Bas et al., 2021).

Environment
Gens
Increased Emotional Reactivity and Empathy
Greater Depth of Information 
Processing
Greaer Awareness of Environmental 
SubtitlesFigure 1: Characteristic of Highly Sensitive Persons by Greven et al. (2019)
Sensory Processing Sensitivity (SPS)
In the second study, the main contribution is the identification of distinct sensitivity groups. In contrast to some theories, the latent class analysis suggests that there are three rather than two sensitivity groups. Based on the results, around 40% of people exhibit medium sensitivity, whereas 29% belong to a group with especially low sensitivity and 31% are highly sensitive.  (Lionetti et al., 2018).

“...Orchids had significantly higher levels of neuroticism and positive emotional reactivity while scoring lower in extraversion than the other groups. ... In summary, these additional analyses suggest that orchids tend to be more introverted and prone to negative effect (neuroticism) than the other groups. However, they also appear to show a stronger emotional response to positive experiences. Dandelions are more extroverted and less anxious but at the same time less responsive to positive mood induction.” (Lionetti et al., 2018).



A Helpful Study!

In “Experiences of Adults High in the Personality Trait Sensory Processing Sensitivity: A Qualitative Study” researchers investigated the core characteristics of SPS by qualitative research interviewing (semi-structured interviews (n = 26) highly sensitive adults aged 25 to 50 years).  A total of 6 themes and 20 sub-themes were identified, reflecting the participants’ perceptions and experiences of SPS characteristics. (Bas et al., 2021).





Emotional Responding

  • Experiencing strong negative emotions in response to negative events, others' behavior (e.g., anger, rejection), and negative media (e.g., news, violence).
  • Experiencing intense positive emotions, such as being moved by music and art, and enjoying small pleasures.
  • Participants reported needing more time to process emotions, especially negative ones.




    • Thinking

    • Participants indicated they worried and ruminated more than others about both personal and societal events, often relating negative comments to themselves.
    • Decision-making can be lengthy, as I want to weigh all options, pros and cons, and consider everyone's opinions, which sometimes frustrates my girlfriend.
    • Participants expressed a higher need for depth and meaning, preferring in-depth conversations over small talk.






    Perceiving Details

    • Many participants indicated they perceived a greater quantity of information, often described as a "lack of a filter."
    • Participants also reported perceiving the world in greater detail, akin to "high definition," noticing more visual and auditory cues in non-verbal communication, such as facial expressions, body language, and tone of voice



    Relatedness to Others

    • Participants readily noticed others' emotional states and the atmosphere, such as unresolved disagreements.
    • They prioritized others' well-being, often at the cost of their own needs.
    • Participants understood others' emotions and perspectives.
    • They acted on this understanding, like helping someone who seemed unwell.
    • Participants felt deep connections with others, actively seeking and sharing these feelings, though some noted downsides.






    Overstimulation

    • Participants indicated being easily overstimulated by sensory stimuli like noise, lights, scents, and tactile sensations (e.g., clothing)
    • Social stimuli, such as large crowds, also caused overstimulation.
    • Overstimulation led to reduced cognitive abilities, such as distraction, restlessness, and lack of clarity.
    • Overstimulation negatively affected mood.





    Global SPS Characteristics

  • The first sub-theme concerned self and identity, including feeling different, having low self-esteem due to high sensitivity, and considering high sensitivity an essential part of themselves.
  • The second sub-theme was feeling easily stressed and finding it difficult to relax.
  • Lastly, participants mentioned feeling tired as a general trait of SPS, sometimes describing it as having a lower energy level.



















    • User Persona






    Empathy Map



    Scenario Mapping




    Ideation with Mind Mapping

    For the next step, I identified patterns in user frustrations and found solutions using specific tools from a psychology approach called DBT, or Dialectical Behavior Therapy, which is very useful for highly sensitive individuals. I then incorporated these tools as features in my app.





    User Flow 







    Low Fidelity Wireframes




    High Fidelity Wireframes







    User Testing


    As mentioned earlier, I initially recruited users based on a sensitivity survey by Elaine N. Aron. However, I faced a hurdle as Penn State University requires the time-consuming IRB process for human subjects, which didn't align with my timeline.
    Consequently, I had to pause user testing, a critical section of my project. To move forward, I leveraged data from user testing in other mental health apps, such as Card Sorting. My plan is to move forward, since user testing is the most important part of my project. This involves scripting a protocol for the testing process, where users will perform specific tasks and provide observations and feedback. I'm careful to avoid biased questions that assume certain factors influence difficulty. For example, instead of asking, "Is it because of a bad process that this task is difficult?" I'll frame it as "What do you think makes this task difficult?"


    Test Objectives
    To assess navigation ease by observing users' movements through the app while following task prompts.
    To gauge users' perception of Flourish's usefulness and potential for daily use.

    Overarching Question
    How easy or difficult is it for users to navigate and complete tasks, and is Flourish's information architecture easy to comprehend?


    Task-Oriented Questions
    Perform a mindfulness exercise.
    Enroll in a sensitivity course.Log your daily mood.
    Enter a compliment.
    Create task lists.
    Review mood tracker and habit tracker results.