Groupe 2

Why some users avoid asking for help when they are unable to use a product or service.
When they don’t know how to use …

The development of new technologies, the innovation race, the mutual

dependence between different products and services and more generally the
transformation of products in to services, makes them difficult to use.
These complex products come with barely comprehensible user manuals and
diagrams/pictograms leaving which most of the time perplex the user.

Who amongst us has never scratched their head when confronted by / in front
of a machine, a new device or an online procedure? While these innovations
are often designed and implemented to make consumers’ daily lives easier they
can also become the source of new problems. In response consumers adopt a
variety of strategies to address these difficulties of use/problems: tutorials,
help from neighbours or friends but also sometimes abandoning the product
altogether.

The reasons for not asking for help may be psychological. In social psychology
for 40 years research has been about asking for help in life in general, even if
most research has focused on medical and psychological help on the one hand
or on the help provided by teachers in class on the other. It appears that not
everyone is comfortable asking for help and that some individuals
systematically try to avoid doing so.

Indeed, asking for help can be seen as threatening, as it can call into question
the applicant’s personal skills/competence in their own eyes.
As it can make the person asking for help question their own ability.

But they may also be afraid of appearing incompetent in the eyes of the person
they are asking for help/helping them.
Furthermore, asking for help goes against values such as autonomy and
control. Finally, it may restrict one’s freedom of choice, for example one may
feel compelled to accept a commercial offer in return for the help provided.
Group 3

Why do some consumers avoid asking for help when they are not able
/unable to use a product or service? when they do not know how to use a
product or service?

The development of new technologies, the race for innovation, the

interdependence between different products and services and more generally
the transformation of products into services, sometimes make them more
complex to use. These complex products and offers come with barely
comprehensible instructions and pictograms/diagrams, which too often leave
the user perplexed.
Who amongst us has never scratched their head when confronted by a
computer, a new device or doing something online? While these innovations
are often designed and created/produced in order make daily life easier for
consumers, they can instead become a source of new problems. In response
consumers adopt different strategies to deal / to cope with these difficulties of
use: tutorials, help from neighbours or friends … but also sometimes giving up
on the product or service.

The reasons why we do not ask for assistance may be psychological./the

reasons that stop us from asking for help may be psychological. In the field of
social psychology, for 40 years, research has been carried out on asking for help
in life in general, even if it has been mainly concerned with asking for help in
either medical or psychological, or classroom situations. It would seem that
some people find it easier than others to ask for help and that some people
systematically seek to avoid doing so.

In fact, asking for help can be perceived as threatening, to the extent that it can
call into question the personal competences of the person asking the question
in their own eyes.
It can make the person asking the question doubt their own competence.
But they can also be afraid of appearing incompetent in the other person’s
eyes. Furthermore, asking for help goes against values such as autonomy and
control. Finally it is to risk having your freedom of choice restricted, for
example to feel compelled to accept a commercial offer in return for the help
offered.