Understanding the Mechanics of Persuasive System Design: A Mixed-Method
Theory-driven Analysis of Freeletics
Behavioral Change
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Schneider, Hanna
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Moser, Kilian
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Butz, Andreas
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Alt, Florian
Proceedings of the ACM CHI'16 Conference on Human Factors in Computing
Systems
2016-05-07
v.1
p.309-320
© Copyright 2016 ACM
Summary: While we know that persuasive system design matters, we barely understand
when persuasive strategies work and why they only work in some cases. We
propose an approach to systematically understand and design for motivation, by
studying the fundamental building blocks of motivation, according to the theory
of planned behavior (TPB): attitude, subjective norm, and perceived control. We
quantitatively analyzed (N=643) the attitudes, beliefs, and values of mobile
fitness coach users with TPB. Capacity (i.e., perceived ability to exercise)
had the biggest effect on users' motivation. Using individual differences
theory, we identified three distinct user groups, namely followers, hedonists,
and achievers. With insights from semi-structured interviews (N=5) we derive
design implications finding that transformation videos that feature other
users' success stories as well as suggesting an appropriate workout can have
positive effects on perceived capacity. Practitioners and researchers can use
our theory-based mixed-method research design to better understand user
behavior in persuasive applications.