Persuasive Technology

Frontmatter

Persuasive Technology or Explorative Technology?

Abstract

Persuasive technology is technology that is intended to change attitudes and/or behaviors using persuasion. An issue with such technology is it pre-supposes that individuals must be convinced to change their attitude or behavior. In contrast, explorative technology is technology that is intended to help users explore and understand information about themselves to support self-reflection and to identify opportunities for behavior change. In this talk, I will describe the differences between such technologies, and argue for the need to invest more effort in explorative technologies through the discussion of a series of case studies.

Anind Dey

How Can Persuasive Technology Help People Choose for Themselves?

Abstract

Persuasive technology is used when it is known in advance what the person in question should be persuaded to do. The job of helping people to choose for themselves what they want to do, in accordance with their own values, tastes, past experience, and capabilities, has been left to other types of interactive system, such as those for decision support or recommendation. But there are reasons why persuasive technology researchers might consider applying their skills to the challenge of helping users choose for themselves:

1

A lot of the innovative techniques developed in persuasive technology can be adapted to yield new ways of supporting choosing. Examples are techniques for monitoring behavior, for simulating the consequences of possible actions, for enforcing commitment strategies, for mediating social influence, and for communicating with users at opportune times and places.

 

2

While users of persuasive technology are doing what they have been persuaded to do, they often need to make nontrivial personal choices about exactly how to do it; their overall success and satisfaction will be affected by how well they make these choices.

 

This talk argues for these claims with reference to concepts and results from the psychology of everyday decision making, and it illustrates them with examples from past and ongoing research and practice.

Anthony Jameson

Software Architecture Design for Health BCSS: Case Onnikka

Abstract

Behavior change support systems (BCSS) are a specific type of persuasive systems. They demand longer time spans and a very tight coupling with individual users’ multiple real-life contexts. However, in most cases research into these systems has described technical artifacts at such a general level that important implementation details such as the software architecture have been ignored. In this paper, we will present a software architecture design for a full-fledged BCSS. The architectural style suggested defines a layered architecture and its key system components. The architecture has been implemented in a real-life BCSS for supporting weight loss and maintenance in order to prevent health problems such as metabolic syndrome. The system development process and the selection of implemented persuasive features was carried out by utilizing the persuasive systems design model. The lessons learned and the architecture presented in this paper can be used in further software engineering research regarding persuasive and behavior change support systems.

Tuomas Alahäivälä, Harri Oinas-Kukkonen, Terhi Jokelainen

Viewing and Controlling Personal Sensor Data: What Do Users Want?

Abstract

Personal data from diverse sensors plays a key role in persuasive systems, especially those aiming to help people achieve long term goals. We need to gain an understanding of the ways people would like to capture and manage such data. We report the design and outcomes of a study exploring how people want to keep and control sensor data for long term health goals. We asked about three sensors, for weight, activity and sitting. We chose these for their diversity in terms of tracking progress on means and end goals, short and long term goals and differing sensitivity of the data. Our results show that people want to use and control a personal copy of such data and their preferences vary across different sensors. This points to the need for future persuasive systems to support these forms of user control over their sensor data.

Debjanee Barua, Judy Kay, Cécile Paris

Colours That Move You: Persuasive Ambient Activity Displays

Abstract

Regular physical activity is essential for maintaining good health. Unfortunately due to the increasingly sedentary nature of modern life many people are not active enough. Although most have the ability to be more active they lack sufficient motivation. Persuasive technology could help to address this problem. We discuss the use of persuasive ambient displays, specifically wearable ambient displays, to motivate users to be more active. We show that it is critical to carefully consider how best to visualise data with a display in order to realise maximum persuasive effect. We present as a case study our ongoing design and development of ActivMON, a wearable persuasive ambient display.

Patrick Burns, Christopher Lueg, Shlomo Berkovsky

Personalized Persuasive Technology – Development and Validation of Scales for Measuring Persuadability

Abstract

In this study we develop and validate an inventory for measuring persuadability to selected persuasive strategies. The development of the initial inventory was successful by means of internal consistency and item-scale correlation for the persuasive strategies rewards, competition, social comparison, trustworthiness and social learning. The inventory can be used to estimate susceptibility to persuasive strategies to personalize persuasive technology according to the users’ personality based on self-reports. This can help system designers to make informed design decisions and to adapt persuasive technology.

Marc Busch, Johann Schrammel, Manfred Tscheligi

The Scrabble of Language towards Persuasion: Changing Behaviors in Journalism

Abstract

The rise of social media influences in the online journalism domain suggests that new learning systems are required to modify the behaviors of journalists. The design of future systems can be explored as game concepts and guided by an emerging ontology for journalism. For these ends this paper identifies vocabulary, concepts and emotions in the domain, and vital intersections with social media, such as crowdsourcing. Data from participatory workshops with journalists is applied to new synthetic player ideas, using Hoare logic. It is also lightly structured for a starting ontology for journalism, to inform how a synthetic player system might persuade a journalist to check their behaviors. It prompts the core values of journalism, such as obtaining opposing views, and prompts critical engagement with crowdsourcing, before declaring a story newsworthy. The system includes contextual emotions, which may vary from inspiration and curiosity to anxiety, due to not having a story.

Cate Dowd

A Customisable Dashboard Display for Environmental Performance Visualisations

Abstract

We conducted an exploratory study of a mobile energy monitoring tool: The Dashboard. Our point of departure from prior work was the emphasis of end-user customisation and social sharing. Applying extensive feedback, we deployed the Dashboard in real-world conditions to socially linked research participants for a period of five weeks. Participants were encouraged to devise, construct, place, and view various data feeds . The aim of our study was to test the assumption that participants, having control over their Dashboard configuration, would engage, and remain engaged, with their energy feedback throughout the trial.

Our research points to a set of design issues surrounding the adoption and continued use of such tools. A novel finding of our study is the impact of social links between participants and their continued engagement with the Dashboard. Our results also illustrate the emergence of energy-voyeurism, a form of social energy monitoring by peers.

Daniel Filonik, Richard Medland, Marcus Foth, Markus Rittenbruch

An Activist Lens for Sustainability: From Changing Individuals to Changing the Environment

Abstract

Design for sustainability is of much interest in Persuasive Technology (PT) and interventions are often targeted to change individual’s behaviour. These interventions aim to change lifestyles to be more ecologically sustainable, however the social and economic circumstances individuals live in often counteract these intentions. Activism has been proposed as a way to address such social circumstances. The contribution of this paper is to further develop an activist lens to present strategies for interventions that address policy makers as well as provide insight into how individuals can engage in activism supported by technology to advance change. Our activist lens points to active data generation and perceived agency by individuals and hybrid forms of interventions. We also address the limitations of technology in such approaches. An activist lens on sustainability and PT might provide a useful new entry point for designing change interventions from the individual to the collective.

Eva Ganglbauer, Wolfgang Reitberger, Geraldine Fitzpatrick

Improving the Design of Online Applications for Social Benefit through a Behaviour Change Model

Abstract

Community support agencies routinely employ a web presence to provide information on their services. While this online information provision helps to increase an agency’s reach, this paper argues that it can be further extended by mapping relationships between services and by facilitating two-way communication and collaboration with local communities. We argue that emergent technologies, such as locative media and networking tools, can assist in harnessing this social capital. However, new applications must be designed in ways that both persuade and support community members to contribute information and support others in need. An analysis of the online presence of community service agencies and social benefit applications is presented against Fogg’s Behaviour Model. From this evaluation, design principles are proposed for developing new locative, collaborative online applications for social benefit.

Kathryn Gough, Jillian Hamilton

Curbing Resource Consumption Using Team-Based Feedback

- Paper Printing in a Longitudinal Case Study -

Abstract

This paper details a team-based feedback approach for reducing resource consumption. The approach uses paper printing within office environments as a case study. It communicates the print usage of each participant’s team rather than the participant’s individual print usage. Feedback is provided weekly via emails and contains normative information, along with eco-metrics and team-based comparative statistics. The approach was empirically evaluated to study the effectiveness of the feedback method. The experiment comprised of 16 people belonging to 4 teams with data on their print usage gathered over 58 weeks, using the first 30-35 weeks as a baseline. The study showed a significant reduction in individual printing with an average of 28%. The experiment confirms the underlying hypothesis that participants are persuaded to reduce their print usage in order to improve the overall printing behaviour of their teams. The research provides clear pathways for future research to qualitatively investigate our findings.

Souleiman Hasan, Richard Medland, Marcus Foth, Edward Curry

Three Approaches to Ethical Considerations in the Design of Behavior Change Support Systems

Abstract

Many ethical questions arise when developing persuasive systems. It has become evident that there is no silver bullet which would make it easy to resolve all ethical issues in all cases. This paper seeks to analyze and define potential ways to address ethical considerations in persuasive systems design. We suggest that there are three main approaches: a guideline-based approach, stakeholder analysis, and involving users. This paper helps to understand the strengths and weaknesses of these approaches when developing behavior change support systems, which, by their very nature, request deep engagement and commitment from their users. A pragmatic goal for this paper is to help designers choose an approach for their projects at hand.

Pasi Karppinen, Harri Oinas-Kukkonen

Using Log-Data as a Starting Point to Make eHealth More Persuasive

Abstract

Despite the large number of eHealth projects to date and the positive outcomes of evaluation studies, the adherence to eHealth interventions is lower than expected. To understand how persuasive technology can influence the adherence to eHealth interventions process data (log-data) about the usage of technology (system and content) can provide a starting point for employment of persuasive features into the design of technology. The log-data of the usage of an eMental health intervention used as an example in this paper, contained a record of actions taken by each participant with for each action the following information: user-id; action type; action specification; time and day. The log-data showed critical episodes for employment of persuasive components to increase adherence: episodes to determine the willingness to follow a therapy, awareness of their non-coping strategies, adoption of “new” skills for behavior change.

Saskia M. Kelders, Julia E. W. C. (Lisette) van Gemert-Pijnen

Where to Place My Ambient Persuasive Display? Insights from a Six-Month Study

Abstract

How does the placement of an ambient persuasive display for modifying energy consumption in the household change over a period of six months? There is limited knowledge about where individuals place such displays in their private households. Location is essential for the sustainable usage of persuasive displays. There is a need to gain insights into the placement decisions of users. We gathered this information in two studies. First, we did a requirement study to collect data where participants would potentially place a display. Second, we conducted a long-term household study to review the actual placement. Participants sent us pictures of their positioning at the beginning and the end of the study. It revealed minimal changes in the position of the displays, but that the choice of position is a very intentional one. We point out our findings and the benefit of this knowledge for the development of ambient persuasive displays.

Patricia M. Kluckner, Astrid Weiss, Manfred Tscheligi

Lingering Serious Experience as Trigger to Raise Awareness, Encourage Reflection and Change Behavior

Abstract

While work in interaction design, human-computer interaction (HCI) and the games literature begins to address experience beyond positive, it just scratches the surface. By turning to drama, literature, music, art and film that has shaped experiences and emotion beyond the positive and fun for many years, we describe what experience beyond positive looks like, show how it is not always “uncomfortable” and argue for the more appropriate term “serious experience”. We discuss the importance of the take-away message / serious experience in persuasive technology, persuasive games and serious games to linger or resonate post-encounter for user/players to encourage reflection, affect attitudes and change behaviors in order to fulfill a persuasive purpose. Finally, we describe associated ethical concerns and make recommendations for designers, evaluators and practitioners in order to safeguard players/users.

Tim Marsh, Brigid Costello

Personalizing Triggers for Charity Actions

Abstract

In this paper we investigate whether there is scope for personalizing triggers in the domain of charitable action. The first of our two studies focuses on actions promoting human rights (via Amnesty International). While participants in a previous exploratory study had indicated that victim attributes (such as gender, religion, and ethnicity) would not matter at all, we found when observing participants’ actions that in fact these attributes mattered greatly. Participants tended to select victim attributes similar to their own, showing a clear potential for personalization. These findings were corroborated by a further study in the area of charitable giving (using the KIVA micro-financing website). The paper also discusses implications for digital behavior intervention.

Judith Masthoff, Sitwat Langrial, Kees van Deemter

Examining the Efficacy of a Persuasive Technology Package in Reducing Texting and Driving Behavior

Abstract

Over the past decade, texting and driving has become a prevalent form of distracted driving and resulted in an alarming rate of deaths and injuries. Research has documented the debilitating cognitive effects of engaging in texting and driving, comparing it to the dangers of driving drunk. Several states have implemented legislation banning texting and driving, however it remains a national epidemic. There is a paucity of empirical research examining the effectiveness of strategies in decreasing texting and driving behavior. Research employing technology as a potential solution has focused on using strategies such as hands-free technology or monitoring devices and applications. The current study takes on a different approach, by examining the efficacy of a persuasive technology package in motivating and facilitating behavior change. Findings provide preliminary evidence for the efficacy of pairing a video documentary and text message reminders in decreasing texting and driving behavior.

Brenda Miranda, Chimwemwe Jere, Olayan Alharbi, Sri Lakshmi, Yasser Khouja, Samir Chatterjee

Enhanced Reach: Assisting Social Interaction Based on Geometric Relationships

Abstract

Social interaction among children plays a significant role in their social development. Some children, however, find it difficult to initiate interaction and there are only few tools that can create opportunities for children to interact with others.

This study presents a small wireless device that can measure and visualize geometric relationships in a gymnasium or playground. The estimation of geometric relationships is proposed based on signal strength of wireless communication, bodily orientation and statistical geometric consistency. A light-emitting visualization method is used in real-time according to geometric relationships among devices. Several wearable interfaces were developed to facilitate communication and social interaction of children by using the developed wireless device. Several experiments were done with typically developing children and children with pervasive developmental disorders (PDD) to evaluate the proposed technology.

Asaki Miura, Dushyantha Jayatilake, Kenji Suzuki

Identifying Persuasive Qualities of Decentralized Peer-to-Peer Online Social Networks in Public Health

Abstract

Online social networks as behavior change support systems have been rapidly gaining in popularity. These networks have been studied by public health specialists from the point of view of traditional behavior change theories. However, scant research exists on the persuasive content of the messages exchanged between participants in such networks. In this paper, we use Persuasive Systems Design (PSD) model to develop a framework for identifying persuasive attributes in online social networks. This framework was applied to QuitNet, an online social network for smoking cessation. Results indicated that the communication in QuitNet had persuasive qualities such as reduction, simulation, social learning, reminders, suggestions, and rewards. Further, these features were predominantly found in messages related to “QuitNet-specific customs”, “Quit progress”, and “Family and friends”. Use of this framework enables the development of quantitative relationships between persuasive attributes and behavior change outcomes experienced by network members.

Sahiti Myneni, Sriram Iyengar, Nathan K. Cobb, Trevor Cohen

Modeling Gender Differences in Healthy Eating Determinants for Persuasive Intervention Design

Abstract

The onset of many health conditions, such as obesity and type 2 diabetes, can be prevented or at least delayed by adequate changes in diet. Various determinants of healthy eating – such as Weight Concern, Nutrition Knowledge, Concern for Disease, Social Influence, and Food Choice Motive – have been manipulated by persuasive technologies to motivate healthy eating behavior. However, the relative importance and the dynamic of interaction between the determinants of healthy behavior for males and females are still unknown. Understanding how the determinants vary across user groups is important, as it will help persuasive technology designers personalize their interventions to the target demographics, thereby increasing the effectiveness of the intervention. To investigate for possible variations in healthy eating determinants, we developed separate models of healthy eating determinants for males and females. The models, which are based on a quantitative study of 228 (124 males and 104 females) participants, reveal some similarities and differences in the interactions between the determinants of healthy eating behavior. Based on the result from our models, we highlight some gender-inclusive and gender-specific approaches to persuasive intervention design.

Rita O. Orji, Julita Vassileva, Regan L. Mandryk

Social Stairs: Taking the Piano Staircase towards Long-Term Behavioral Change

Abstract

This paper addresses the development of Social Stairs, an intelligent musical staircase to change people’s behavior in the long-term to take the stairs in favor of the elevator. Through designing with the Experiential Design Landscape (EDL) method, a design opportunity was found that social engagement encouraged people to take the stairs at work in favor of the elevator. To encourage this social behavior, people who involved each other and worked together whilst using the Social Stairs were treated with more diverse orchestral chimes that echoed up the stairwell. In this paper we reflect on the differences between the persuasive system of the well-known Piano Staircase and the Social Stairs. We report on the deployment of the Social Stairs for a period of three weeks in the public space within the university community and identify opportunities for triggering intrinsic motivation, social engagement and how to keep people involved in the long-term.

Michel Peeters, Carl Megens, Elise van den Hoven, Caroline Hummels, Aarnout Brombacher

Invisible Work: An Ambient System for Awareness and Reflection of Household Tasks

Abstract

Household tasks have been described as the invisible work carried out in the home. Their coordination and especially negotiating a fair and transparent distribution of these tasks between different members of a household is a significant challenge in the busy lives of many people. The persuasive system presented in this paper, Choreflect, aims to address this issue by making the inhabitants’ contributions to household work more visible. The prototype uses distributed ambient displays in the home to enable household members to track household tasks, which are then visualized by the system. A four week study of the system carried out in two shared apartments and two family households showed that the system fostered a rise in awareness about this invisible work by showing users their own and other inhabitants’ contributions. The multiple ambient displays situated in the participants homes enabled opportunities for reflection and motivated an increased engagement in household tasks.

Wolfgang Reitberger, Martin Kastenmiller, Geraldine Fitzpatrick

I Didn’t Know That Virtual Agent Was Angry at Me: Investigating Effects of Gaze Direction on Emotion Recognition and Evaluation

Abstract

Previous research has shown a link between gazing behavior and type of emotion felt. It appears that approach-oriented emotions are better perceived in combination with a direct gaze, whereas avoidance-oriented emotions are better perceived in combination with an averted gaze. In this study, we investigate whether this effect can be applied to persuasive social agents. We hypothesized that an approach-oriented emotion is more credible when combined with a direct gaze, whereas an avoidance-oriented emotion is more credible when combined with an averted gaze. This was tested with both an implicit categorization task and an explicit evaluation. The hypothesis was supported for angry expressions, but not for sad ones. Implications for further research and the design of effective persuasive agents are discussed.

Peter A. M. Ruijten, Cees J. H. Midden, Jaap Ham

Three Themes for Designing Games That Aim to Promote a Positive Body Perception in Hospitalized Children

Abstract

Hospitalized children often experience physical changes that negatively affect their bodily perceptions, thereby adding to the stress of being sick. Existing approaches to supporting hospitalized children such as those promoted by the Clown Doctors use play to distract the child from negative bodily perceptions. In contrast, we propose reframing the bodily perception of these children through bodily virtual play facilitated by their imagination. We explore this design space through an analysis of the literature combined with design explorations around play and bodily imagination. This research results in a set of themes for games that aim to reframe bodily perception to a more positive self-image full of creative potential. We envisage that our work could help designers who aim to create digital play for sick children.

Ruth Sancho Huerga, Jennifer Lade, Florian ‘Floyd’ Mueller

Persuading Consumers to Reduce Their Consumption of Electricity in the Home

Abstract

Previous work has identified that providing real time feedback or interventions to consumers can persuade consumers to change behaviour and reduce domestic electricity consumption. However, little work has investigated what exactly those feedback mechanisms should be. Most past work is based on an in-home display unit, possibly complemented by lower tariffs and delayed use of non-essential home appliances such as washing machines. In this paper we focus on four methods for real time feedback on domestic energy use, developed to gauge the impact on energy consumption in homes. Their feasibility had been tested using an experimental setup of 24 households collecting minute-by-minute electricity consumption data readings over a period of 18 months. Initial results are mixed, and point to the difficulties of sustaining a reduction in energy consumption, i.e. persuading consumers to change their behaviour. Some of the methods we used exploit small group social dynamics whereby people want to conform to social norms within groups they identify with. It may be that a variety of feedback mechanisms and interventions are needed in order to sustain user interest.

Alan F. Smeaton, Aiden R. Doherty

Spotz: A Location-Based Approach to Self-awareness

Abstract

This paper introduces the location-based mobile application Spotz that explores the persuasive qualities of sharing location information visually to promote behavior change. Spotz encourages users to become self-aware of the kinds of places they visit which can have motivational properties deriving from social feedback. The app displays a continually evolving graphic of relatively sized circles depicting the number and type of places at which the users check-in, including the option to upload this visual to social media.

Misha Sra, Chris Schmandt

Bro-cam: Improving Game Experience with Empathic Feedback Using Posture Tracking

Abstract

In todays videogames user feedback is often provided through raw statistics and scoreboards. We envision that incorporating empathic feedback matching the player’s current mood will improve the overall gaming experience. In this paper we present Bro-cam, a novel system that provides empathic feedback to the player based on their body postures. Different body postures of the players are used as an indicator for their openness. From their level of openness, Bro-cam profiles the players into different personality types ranging from introvert to extrovert. Empathic feedback is then automatically generated and matched to their preferences for certain humoristic feedback statements. We use a depth camera to track the player’s body postures and movements during the game and analyze these to provide customized feedback. We conducted a user study involving 32 players to investigate their subjective assessment on the empathic game feedback. Semi-structured interviews reveal that participants were positive about the empathic feedback and Bro-cam significantly improves their game experience.

Chiew Seng Sean Tan, Johannes Schöning, Jan Schneider Barnes, Kris Luyten, Karin Coninx

Trusting Digital Chameleons: The Effect of Mimicry by a Virtual Social Agent on User Trust

Abstract

Earlier research suggested that mimicry increases liking and trust in other people. Because people respond socially to technology and mimicry leads to increased liking of virtual agents, we expected that a mimicking virtual agent would be liked and trusted more than a non-mimicking one. We investigated this expectation in an automotive setting. We performed an experiment in which participants played an investment game and a route planner game, to measure their behavioral trust in two virtual agents. These agents either mimicked participant’s head movements or not. Liking and trust of these virtual agents were measured with questionnaires. Results suggested that for the investment game, mimicry did not increase liking or trust. For the route planner game however, a mimicking virtual agent was liked and trusted more than a non-mimicking virtual agent. These results suggest that mimicry could be a useful tool to persuade users to trust a virtual agent.

Frank M. F. Verberne, Jaap Ham, Aditya Ponnada, Cees J. H. Midden

Toward the Design of a Dashboard to Promote Environmentally Sustainable Behavior among Office Workers

Abstract

In the United States, over three billion dollars are spent due to office equipment being left on when not in use during the weekend and at night. There is very little incentive for office workers to save energy because utility bills are not directly their responsibility. Our goal is to find ways to reduce the negative impact of this pervasive phenomenon by applying persuasive technologies to create awareness and encourage office workers towards more environmentally sustainable behavior. To this end, we conducted a literature review to investigate the persuasive methods appropriate to the field of building controls. We then proceeded to develop "dashboard-controllers" that enable office workers to control energy-using components with expert feedback to save energy.

Ray Yun, Bertrand Lasternas, Azizan Aziz, Vivian Loftness, Peter Scupelli, Anthony Rowe, Ruchie Kothari, Flore Marion, Jie Zhao

Sustainability in the Workplace: Nine Intervention Techniques for Behavior Change

Abstract

Human activity creates some of the greatest environmental challenges on the planet. Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) research on sustainability increased dramatically in the past five years. Researchers argue that technology plays a critical role in changing people’s belief and behavior towards sustainability. Much of the sustainable HCI research currently focuses on domestic environments. However, 36% of electrical energy is used in the workplace and through office workers’ behavior modification savings between 12% to 20% are possible. We investigate nine intervention techniques based on a review of studies in the fields in Persuasive technology, HCI, Ubicomp, environmental psychology, energy efficiency, and green building. We introduce related studies and design examples, and discuss design issues using our suggestions in designing persuasive systems for the workplace.

Ray Yun, Peter Scupelli, Azizan Aziz, Vivian Loftness

Backmatter