CHI 97 Electronic Publications: Special Interest Groups (SIGs)
Captology: The Study of Computers as Persuasive Technologies
BJ Fogg
Stanford University
P.O. Box 8338
Stanford, CA 94309 USA
bjfogg@stanford.edu, bjfogg@aol.com, bjfogg@acm.org
KEYWORDS
Psychology of HCI, persuasion, influence, agents, interaction design
© 1997 Copyright on this material is held by the authors.
INTRODUCTION
"Captology" is a newly coined word that describes the study of Computers As
Persuasive Technologies (see figure).
As the figure shows, captology describes the shaded area where computing
technology and persuasion overlap.
Although captology has been on the periphery of various fields for
years--including HCI, education, advertising, and health promotion--it has
never been a key focus for any discipline. Thanks to the SIG program,
CHI'97 now provides the HCI community with an opportunity to begin
exploring captology as its own area of inquiry, including both theoretical
and practical issues.
RATIONALE
As computers become increasingly ubiquitous, distributed, and specialized,
the CHI community has a greater need to understand the issues surrounding
interactive technologies that change attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors. An
understanding of captology would not only enrich HCI theory about how
humans interact with computers, but it would also lead to better design of
interactive technologies, especially those that have the task of persuading
users to change in beneficial ways.
For example, an understanding of captology would enhance our strategies
for researching or designing--
- a CD-ROM product that entices children to eat more fruits and vegetables.
- a financial management PDA that motivates college students to use their
money wisely.
- a web agent that persuades a retired couple to persist in creating
their own home page, even though it seems difficult.
GOALS OF THE SIG
The goals of the SIG are as follows:
- to gather a core group of CHI members interested in captology
- to identify key issues related to captology
- to share leads on relevant research
- to compile a list of relevant captology products or implementations
- to begin creating a framework for understanding captology
- to identify key domains for captology applications and research
STRUCTURE/OUTLINE OF THE SIG
- Welcome and overview
- Introductions of attendees with brief statements of interest
- Demo/presentation of a few captology products
- Group discussion on various issues, including:
- clarifying terminology: "computer" & "persuasion"
- creating a list of current computer products that attempt to persuade
- identifying domains with need for captology (health, education, etc.)
- discussing the role of HCI professionals and academics in captology
- discussing the ethics of captology
- sketching an initial framework for understanding captology
- creating a list of possible perspectives on captology
- Record group work and prepare for future collaborations
POTENTIAL OUTCOMES OF THE SIG
- Forming an electronic group to discuss captology further
- Creating a captology web site to act as a clearinghouse
- Publishing a SIG summary for the SIGCHI bulletin
- Making a presentation on captology at a future CHI
CHI 97 Electronic Publications: Special Interest Groups (SIGs)
