RainMind: Investigating Dynamic Natural Soundscape of Physiological Data to Promote Self-Reflection for Stress Management

Metaphorical auditory displays are increasingly recognized for data presentation and self-reflection. This article presents the design and evaluation of RainMind, a web-based soundscape application that represents physiological data with dynamic natural sounds for daily stress reflection. Based on different combinations of auditory display with visualization, we identified three modes: the Visual-Aided Mode (VAM), the Audio-Aided Mode (AAM), and the Audio-Visual Mode (AVM). Through a within-subject study involving 30 participants, we conducted a mixed-methods evaluation to assess the task load, engagement, and user experience among the three modes. The findings indicated that the combination of dynamic natural soundscapes with visualization (AVM) contributes to a lower task load compared to the other two modes. Moreover, dynamic natural soundscapes as metaphors for stress data significantly enhanced engagement and user experience of self-reflection compared to static natural sounds. Based on our study, we discuss the potential of leveraging dynamic natural soundscapes as a new way of data-driven self-reflection.