Computer playfulness and anxiety: positive and negative mediators of the system experience effect on perceived ease of use

Abstract

An information system's perceived ease of use is a major factor in both the prediction and determination of the user's choice to utilize the system. As users develop confidence and understanding via hands-on experience, they see the system as simpler to operate. Using a sample of 116 people who use electronic spreadsheets, our study found that system experience correlates with ease of use, as measured by both positive (computer fun) and negative (computer fear) reactions. Perceived ease of use was substantially connected to system experience, as one would anticipate. Anxieties and playfulness with computers were identified as important moderators of the relationship between system experience and usability. But computer fear was the sole mediator of the impact, showing that user response on the negative end is more powerful than on the good end. Furthermore, it is recommended to apply treatments that were discovered to affect computer anxiety as a mediator in order to improve perceptions of ease of use