Living Inside the Black Box: Behavioral Probing and Adaptation in Mandatory Wearable Sensing

2026-07-09

AI Summary

This study addresses the opacity of mandatory wearable sensing systems in high-stakes institutional settings, where users struggle to understand how their behavioral data are translated into consequential judgments. Drawing on in-depth interviews and behavioral observations of 24 individuals under electronic monitoring in China’s community correction system, the research introduces the concept of “sensor literacy” to elucidate how users actively construct risk awareness, probe system boundaries, and adapt their conduct under opaque surveillance. Two adaptive patterns emerge: limited behavioral flexibility when rules are predictable, and excessive activity contraction under high uncertainty. Notably, computational habits persist even after device removal. These findings offer critical insights for enhancing transparency and human-centered design in institutional sensing systems.

Abstract

Wearable sensing systems in high-stakes institutional contexts translate behavioral data into consequential judgments, yet wearers have little access to how those judgments are made. We present a qualitative study of 24 individuals who experienced mandatory electronic monitoring in China's community corrections system. We show that participants built what we term sensor literacy under constraint, a practical form of risk-oriented knowledge developed through uncertainty, behavioral probing, and adaptation. We identify two orientations across rule domains. Where participants had mapped system behavior, they sometimes regained limited flexibility. Where uncertainty remained costly, they contracted movement and discretionary activity beyond formal rules. Some former wearers described residual habits of calculation after device removal. We discuss design implications for making institutional sensing intelligible to wearers, including sensor uncertainty, usable documentation, and evaluation after device wearing.

Problem

• wearable sensing
• institutional surveillance
• behavioral adaptation
• sensor literacy
• electronic monitoring

Innovation

• sensor literacy
• behavioral probing
• mandatory wearable sensing
• institutional sensing
• uncertainty adaptation