User Experience Through Psychological Ownership and Religious Coping: A Sentiment and Thematic Content Analysis of Smart App Update Reviews
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59992/IJSR.2026.v5n9p3الكلمات المفتاحية:
Smart religious applications، religious coping، psychological ownership، user reviews، sentiment analysisالملخص
This study examines how mobile app users respond to technological changes affecting non-core religious features, focusing on the "Haqibat Al-Mu'min" application. Drawing on Religious Coping Theory and Psychological Ownership Theory, it proposes a theoretical framework explaining users' disproportionate reactions to malfunctions in devotional functions, particularly the Istikhara feature, despite continued app loyalty. Using a natural pre-post event design, the study analyzed 571 Google Play Store reviews split into two equal time periods, employing a mixed-methods approach combining sentiment analysis and thematic content analysis. Results showed no significant change in users' overall app perception after the update, yet a significant increase in mentions of the Istikhara feature, strongly linked to negative reactions underscoring the feature's importance to users. Despite rising complaints, satisfaction with the app did not decline; instead, users predominantly requested restoration of the missing feature rather than app discontinuation, a pattern consistent with psychological ownership dynamics. These findings support a hybrid explanatory model in which religious coping drives users' emotional attachment to the app, while psychological ownership sustains their loyalty despite dissatisfaction. Theoretically, the study contributes to user experience and digital religiosity research by clarifying how users respond to future revisions, offering concepts that can help developers of religious applications anticipate and manage user reactions to upcoming updates
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