Towards user experience based persuasive systems

Abstract

Persuasive technology is a recent research field that combines the computing and human psychology aspects. The target is to develop persuasive systems that are able to change or reshape human behavior. Persuasive technology has quickly found a wide range of applications in many fields of research and development like marketing, health, safety and environment. Persuasive systems may also be used in other domains like religion, politics, diplomacy, military training, management, and education. Improving the persuasion process is a key element in the success of persuasive systems. The user experience is an important factor that should be included in the persuasion process. This paper reviews the current trends of persuasive technology and shows some example of the available persuasive systems. It then contributes by proposing a new and promising research direction for designing persuasive systems that take the user feedback as a main element in the persuasion process. Some of the systems that follow this approach have been proposed and illustrated. © 2011 Springer-Verlag.