Performativity

Abstract

This chapter helps clarify the concept of PED by examining the concept of performativity, a term with any number of distinct meanings and implications in HCI, performance studies, and beyond. The introductory section sketches four definitions of performativity: as a capacity for action (though not always individual agency), as a process of performance, as active engagement (embodied, mental, energetic, and the like), and as an indication of markers of theatricality or a performance frame. These definitions inflect the primary sense of the performative in PED, which is the concept of putting one’s actions on display. Performativity is therefore implicit in every interaction with technology that may result in another person perceiving and potentially passing some judgement on the user. As a result, the how of any interaction becomes a key consideration. With this perspective established, the chapter provides a brief overview of the field of performance studies and its point of view on performative interactions with technologies, followed by an overview of the move in HCI, interaction design, and experience design towards third-wave concerns. The chapter concludes with an explanation of how these two points of view come together in PED.