Persuasive Technologies SV Final
Lecture 1 – Designing for behaviour change
Increasing motivation
• How can we encourage people to do the action?
• Can we help individuals to transition into the next stage of the
behaviour change process?
• Find out in which stage of the behaviour change process the
person is
• Different approaches to help them progress depending on the
stage
• Examples
o Precontemplation → Encourage evaluation of current behaviour, explain risks, clarify
it is the user’s decision
o Contemplation → Encourage evaluation of benefits and disadvantages, promote
positive outcome expectations
o Preparation → Assist in moving over obstacles, encourage small steps, verify
existing skills
o Action→ Restructure cues, increase self-efficacy, reiterate long-term benefits
o Maintenance → Make plans to offer follow-up support, reinforce internal rewards
o Relapse → Evaluate what triggered the relapse
Increasing ability
• Is there an easier way to accomplish the same result?
• Is there something that is more natural for people to do?
Give a good prompt/ trigger/ cue at the right moment!
• Make it simpler! Change the action/environment, so that the individual is more likely to
do the action.
• Reduce the effort user needs to make.
o Change environment and guide them to the action.
o Example: smart-meter showing you readings from inside the house or an app that can
submit a reading for you using your phone's camera.
• Cheat! Completely remove action by doing it for the individual.
o Default the action
▪ user is often asked for consent (informed consent); system takes action; e.g.
savings, donations
o Automate the action
▪ Remove the need for the person to do anything.
▪ Taking a repeated action is more difficult than taking the action once, even
when the person learns to do it better over time.
▪ Example: exercise tracking, internet banking applications.
o Use automation and defaulting to make it one time action!
▪ Example: default opt-in for organ donation in Scotland
o Make it incidental/secondary
▪ Let action piggyback on habit
▪ Example: iodine in bread/salt, vitamins in cereals, fluorine in toothpaste,
medicine in juice
1
, • Support conscious action by changing the person to help them prepare for actions
o Increase awareness of change process
o Answer important questions
▪ Why should I change? How do I change? What do I want to achieve? What
are the consequences? Which actions? What can I do? What do I have to
learn?
o Methods Examples: information, education, training, motivation, making agreements
Prompts
• Make sure the prompt arrives at a good time!
o Remember the Fogg Behaviour model! Both motivation and ability need to be high
enough to place the user above the threshold!
• Use prompts/triggers/cues in combination with persuasive strategies to increase
effectiveness.
o For example, send users persuasive messages that use Cialdini’s principles.
• Personalise!
o Ask users (measure perceived persuasion)
o Observe what users do
Personalising strategies
Perceived persuasiveness Actual persuasiveness
Easier to implement More difficult to implement
Subjective Objective
Depends on people’s conceptions of Higher cost for the user (e.g. time/effort)
persuasiveness
Could be affected by priming Could be affected by external factors (weather
conditions)
• People are influenced by certain persuasive strategies more than others
• What people perceive to be more persuasive is not necessarily what will persuade them to
complete a certain action
• Personality influences people’s susceptibility to different principles in actual persuasion,
while gender and age have a small effect
• Susceptibility to persuasive principles remains stable over time
• Using personalised persuasive messages is effective at encouraging kind behaviours and
improving behavioural intention and subjective wellbeing
Lecture 2 – Crafting the intervention (part I)
Crafting interventions
• The intervention should support users to perform/stop the actions that contribute to the
achievement of the desired outcome.
2
Lecture 1 – Designing for behaviour change
Increasing motivation
• How can we encourage people to do the action?
• Can we help individuals to transition into the next stage of the
behaviour change process?
• Find out in which stage of the behaviour change process the
person is
• Different approaches to help them progress depending on the
stage
• Examples
o Precontemplation → Encourage evaluation of current behaviour, explain risks, clarify
it is the user’s decision
o Contemplation → Encourage evaluation of benefits and disadvantages, promote
positive outcome expectations
o Preparation → Assist in moving over obstacles, encourage small steps, verify
existing skills
o Action→ Restructure cues, increase self-efficacy, reiterate long-term benefits
o Maintenance → Make plans to offer follow-up support, reinforce internal rewards
o Relapse → Evaluate what triggered the relapse
Increasing ability
• Is there an easier way to accomplish the same result?
• Is there something that is more natural for people to do?
Give a good prompt/ trigger/ cue at the right moment!
• Make it simpler! Change the action/environment, so that the individual is more likely to
do the action.
• Reduce the effort user needs to make.
o Change environment and guide them to the action.
o Example: smart-meter showing you readings from inside the house or an app that can
submit a reading for you using your phone's camera.
• Cheat! Completely remove action by doing it for the individual.
o Default the action
▪ user is often asked for consent (informed consent); system takes action; e.g.
savings, donations
o Automate the action
▪ Remove the need for the person to do anything.
▪ Taking a repeated action is more difficult than taking the action once, even
when the person learns to do it better over time.
▪ Example: exercise tracking, internet banking applications.
o Use automation and defaulting to make it one time action!
▪ Example: default opt-in for organ donation in Scotland
o Make it incidental/secondary
▪ Let action piggyback on habit
▪ Example: iodine in bread/salt, vitamins in cereals, fluorine in toothpaste,
medicine in juice
1
, • Support conscious action by changing the person to help them prepare for actions
o Increase awareness of change process
o Answer important questions
▪ Why should I change? How do I change? What do I want to achieve? What
are the consequences? Which actions? What can I do? What do I have to
learn?
o Methods Examples: information, education, training, motivation, making agreements
Prompts
• Make sure the prompt arrives at a good time!
o Remember the Fogg Behaviour model! Both motivation and ability need to be high
enough to place the user above the threshold!
• Use prompts/triggers/cues in combination with persuasive strategies to increase
effectiveness.
o For example, send users persuasive messages that use Cialdini’s principles.
• Personalise!
o Ask users (measure perceived persuasion)
o Observe what users do
Personalising strategies
Perceived persuasiveness Actual persuasiveness
Easier to implement More difficult to implement
Subjective Objective
Depends on people’s conceptions of Higher cost for the user (e.g. time/effort)
persuasiveness
Could be affected by priming Could be affected by external factors (weather
conditions)
• People are influenced by certain persuasive strategies more than others
• What people perceive to be more persuasive is not necessarily what will persuade them to
complete a certain action
• Personality influences people’s susceptibility to different principles in actual persuasion,
while gender and age have a small effect
• Susceptibility to persuasive principles remains stable over time
• Using personalised persuasive messages is effective at encouraging kind behaviours and
improving behavioural intention and subjective wellbeing
Lecture 2 – Crafting the intervention (part I)
Crafting interventions
• The intervention should support users to perform/stop the actions that contribute to the
achievement of the desired outcome.
2
