Bj Fogg

Silicon sycophants

A laboratory experiment examines the claims that (1) humans are susceptible to flattery from computers and (2) the effects of flattery from computers are the same as the effects of flattery from humans. In a cooperative task with a computer, subjects (N=41) received one of three types of feedback from a computer: “sincere praise”, “flattery” (insincere praise) or “generic feedback”. Compared to generic-feedback subjects, flattery subjects reported more positive affect, better performance, more positive evaluations of the interaction and more positive regard for the computer, even though subjects knew that the flattery from the computer was simply noncontingent feedback. Subjects in the sincere praise condition responded similarly to those in the flattery condition. The study concludes that the effects of flattery from a computer can produce the same general effects as flattery from humans, as described in the psychology literature. These findings may suggest significant implications for the design of interactive technologies.

HandJive: a device for interpersonal haptic entertainment

The paper describes how we designed and prototyped HandJive, a haptic device for interpersonal entertainment. Handlive is notable because it relies entirely on haptic input and output. The design process included typical steps such as analyzing user needs and performing iterative prototyping 2nd testing. However, developing a haptic interface like HandJive also presented special challenges, such as creating rapid physical prototypes that could withstand abuse, developing a preliminary system of haptic interaction, and testing haptic interfaces through low-tech prototypes.

Online Persuasion in Facebook and Mixi: A Cross-Cultural Comparison

Social networking sites persuade millions of users each day to adopt specific behaviors. To understand this phenomenon in the context of persuasive technology, we analyzed how persuasion takes place in leading social networking sites from two different countries: Facebook in the U.S. and Mixi in Japan. We compared the two services on four persuasion goals: creating profile pages, inviting friends, responding to content by friends, and returning to the site often. Our analysis reveals the differences and similarities in how Facebook and Mixi are designed to influence users toward the achievement of these four goals. In general, Facebooks persuasive design is more assertive and mechanistic, while Mixis approach, by comparison, is subtle and indirect. These persuasion styles seem to map generally to cultural differences between the U.S. and Japan.

10 uses of texting to improve health

Most people use text messaging to stay in touch with friends. But the options for texting go beyond individual communication. In this paper we present 10 ways for texting to improve health behavior. Our hope is that health professionals can see new ways that texting can help achieve their health care goals.

CommuterNews: a prototype of persuasive in-car entertainment

CommuterNews is a prototype of an in-car persuasive entertainment system developed by the Stanford Persuasive Technology Lab in collaboration with DaimlerChrysler. The system presents daily news stories in the form of multiple-choice questions and short relevant sound clips selected from a standard broadcast story. By asking questions about the content before hearing the story, CommuterNews motivates the driver to actively engage themselves while gathering the news.

Three possible futures for persuasive technology

I will share three possible paths that persuasive technologies might take in the coming years: MixMasters, Swishers, and MegaMonkeys. These speculative futures may help us reevaluate our methods for research and design. Even if my three scenarios never happen, what seems certain is that our current practices, in both industry and academics, will inevitably change as we develop better tools for creating, distributing, and measuring persuasive technologies. I believe these changes will come sooner than most expect.

The role of commitment devices and self-shaping in persuasive technology

We examine the role of self-shaping and commitment devices in persuasive systems. Self-shaping refers to the practice of taking purposeful action in modifying ones environment in order to shape or influence ones own future behavior. We present results from a survey of 23 users that assessed the role self-shaping plays in their use of persuasive technologies. A second survey elicited 65 self-shaping designs from 41 expert users, finding the Fogg Behavior Model describes how the designs were indeed persuasive. We then reviewed 85 tools based on this model to show the two dimensions that can be used to organize persuasive devices: (1) salience of a tools self-shaping features and (2) their intended flexibility. The resulting four categories of tools are useful for researchers and designers of persuasive systems.

Designing for video engagement on social networks: a video marketing case study

In this case study, we describe the design and execution of a video marketing campaign on Facebook. We present concrete recommendations for effective video persuasion design, focusing on a new kind of video player presentation, as well as one specific environment in which video content can be placed, seeded, and distributed. We present a number of findings that support our design recommendations. Finally, we acknowledge and discuss the limitations in our case study approach.

Is ActiMates Barney ethical?: the potential good, bad, and ugly of interactive plush toys

Interactive plush toys, such as ActiMates Barney, raise new ethical concerns that we as HCI professionals need to address and understand. This panel is designed to bring those concerns to the forefront and allow panelists and audience members to debate key issues. The panel includes people with expertise in creating interactive plush toys, creating software for children, and investigating ethical issues of technology.