Persuasive Technology: Using Computers to Change What We Think and Do

by B.J. Fogg and B.J. Fogg

Book Overview

Can computers change what you think and do? Can they motivate you to stop smoking, persuade you to buy insurance, or convince you to join the Army?

"Yes, they can," says Dr. B.J. Fogg, director of the Persuasive Technology Lab at Stanford University. Fogg has coined the phrase "Captology"(an acronym for computers as persuasive technologies) to capture the domain of research, design, and applications of persuasive computers.In this thought-provoking...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1558606432
• ISBN13: 9781558606432
• Release Date: December 2002
• Publisher: Morgan Kaufmann Publishers
• Length: 312 Pages
• Weight: 1.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 7.5" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Fogg's research critical to improving public healthcare

Dr. Fogg makes several critical points that are essential to improving the US healthcare system, particularly in the area of preventative disease:* Computers offer an advantage over traditional persuasive media because they are interactive.* As a tool, computers can be persuasive by making target behavior easier to do.* Leading a user through a process aids in persuasion.* Persuasive technologies often perform calculations or measurements that motivate.* As a medium, a computer will be persuasive if it allows users to explore cause-and-effect relationships.* Computing technologies that help people rehearse a behavior can be persuasive.* Persuasive technologies can provide users with vicarious experiences that motivate them to change their behavior.* By rewarding people with positive feedback, computers act as persuaders.* Persuasive technologies often model a target behavior or attitude.* Computers that create a relationship with the user and provide social support are effective persuaders.

The Place to Start

If you've ever wondered how technology is subtly and shaping how we think and work, this is the book for you. Years of scholarly research at Stanford has allowed BJ Fogg to use the foundations of rhetoric to show how web and other 21st century techologies affect how we make choices, sometimes subconsciously, and can be used to shape quite deliberately our expectations about the choices we make. Probably too much of an overview for the engineer, IT, psychology or advertising professional, the book is nonetheless a very thorough treatment of the subject for any of them, and for the general reader, with lots of well-researched citations for those who want to know more. Good layout and design, with attractive visuals and illustrations throughout bring the subject to life and reinforce the solid and provocative points Fogg is making. Arthur C. Clark once said "the best technology is like magic" and BJ Fogg tells us how the magic of technology is influencing the choices we make. For anyone working on e-business, or wanting to understand why the website is working (or not), or giving orders to your web designers, this is the book to have.

Practical Scholarship at Its Best

"Persuasive Technology: Using Computers to Change What We Think and Do" by B.J. Fogg puts to rest the old adage about ivory tower academics obsessing over trivia. The research studies reported in this book demonstrate the power and practicality of scholarly methods when applied to real world issues. Moreover, Fogg's methodology and findings are presented in highly accessible language that can be understood by anyone from high school students on up.But the remarkable comprehensibility of this work should not be taken for a lack of substance. Make no mistake, there are many deep ideas herein and the ethics of using computers to influence behavior are given the same insightful treatment as the applied techniques surveyed throughout.Yet beyond the specific findings of the studies reported on its pages (which will eventually be extended or superceded), Persuasive Technology offers a truly rich framework that defines the shape of an entirely new discipline. As such it will stand the test of time and serve as a guide to generations of scholars, designers, and developers in the years ahead.This book should be required reading for anyone contemplating a high tech startup venture, developing a web presence for his or her organization, or studying such topics as Communications, Information Science, Marketing, and Computer Science.

Technology Designers & Marketers: Take Heed!

It's 2003 and the initial excitement, innovation and greed that fueled the technology boom of the late 90s have all but disappeared. Yet left in their tracks are the tangible building blocks of an industry destined to continue changing commerce, education and social activism in profound and irreversible ways. For a fresh perspective on the forces shaping next-phase software and Web development, look no further than "Persuasive Technology" by Dr. B.J. Fogg, director of the Persuasive Technology Lab at Stanford University. Surely, academic research may fail to generate the enthusiasm of erstwhile launch parties and public offerings, but Dr. Fogg's work offers a purposeful key to helping us understand, and thereby design, more effective and sustainable (read: revenue-generating) interactive technologies. Proposing a new analytical model called "captology", short for "computers as persuasive technologies", Dr. Fogg is the first to address the increasingly important role of computers in actuating attitudinal and behavioral change - in other words, the ability to persuade users to take a particular action: to buy more, play more, lose weight, quit smoking, register to win, etc. For technology researchers accustom to the tenets of Usability - essentially the evaluation of functionality and "likability" - captology goes a significant step further, addressing the extent to which an interactive device (be it a website or mobile phone) succeeds in changing users' attitudes and behaviors. The importance of this research is unquestionable, if you can imagine (or personally relate to) an online marketer anxious to sell more goods, or a smoker who turns to a motivational website to help him/her quit. It is no longer enough for a website or software tool to be "user friendly"; its intended objective - as a tool of persuasion - must be achieved. Through the study of captology, designers have a new framework for building products, services and promotions that succeed in generating the results they seek. What could be more timely and constructive in this period when all sectors - commercial, educational, social/civic and more - are straining to yield measurable, bottom-line results from their technology investments? Thank you, Dr. Fogg, for the fresh and purposeful approach. Your timing couldn't be better! Cate RiegnerM.A. Communications, Annenberg School for Communication. University of PennsylvaniaPrincipal, Media-Screen ConsultingFounder, artAngels.org

Read chapter 7, then the whole book

Although much has been made of the secondary effects of technology--such as how "Email makes everyone a writer"--Fogg's book is the first that I am aware of to explicitly look at how computers themselves can be used as agents to change how people behave and think. As such, Fogg breaks a lot of new ground, giving a theoretical framework and practical advice for understanding how computers and the world-wide web work as persuasive media. Fogg wisely defines computers broadly: essentially, any interactive technology is a computing device, from the common desktop computer to a heart-rate monitor that gives feedback and analysis to the wearer.Of particular note: Chapter 7 deals with what makes a web-site believable, and should be required reading for any web designer or content developer who wants surfers to change an action or belief based on their site, whether that action is as simple as returning to that site again and again or as complicated as stopping smoking. This chapter alone will be worth having the entire book on your shelf.Another insight Fogg makes that struck me is how computers differ from traditional media in their ability to persuade: computers can adapt (within their programming of course) the message, its frequency and many other variables based on the response of the user. Television and print can't do that. This ability gives computers great power to persuade, closer in some ways to a human adapting a speech based on crowd response. Of course, computers have many advantages as persuasive agents that humans do not, such as the ability to provide anonymity and simulation of events. Persuasive Technology is filled with similar insights.This is a very accessible book. Easy to skim when it deals with something less relevant to you. (Fogg's background in information design shows to great benefit.)All in all worth the read.