April 29, 2004
Laughing our way to new attitudes & behaviors
After my captology class this week, some students showed me The Meatrix, a funny online animation about the evils of factory farming (a pig plays the Keanu Reeves character). We watched the cartoon story a couple times, laughing at the elements of parody, while being exposed to persuasive messages all along the way. It worked. What gives humor persuasive power? Here's what I say: 1. You are more likely to pay attention. (Hey, it's funny)2. You are less likely to argue back. (C'mon, it's just a joke)
3. You will tend to like the persuader, giving them more power to influence you.
4. You will feel happier, which opens your mind to new ideas and behaviors. When delivered over mobile phones, funny stories like The Meatrix will eventually outperform TV commercials in changing what people think and do. This is the future of advertising. And call it what you will, this is the future of propaganda.
Posted by at 02:50 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 28, 2004
Social Pressure and Shareware Registration
Authors of Shareware are always on the lookout for ways to encourage their users to pay up. WinZip reminds you how many Zip files you've opened, so you'll realize how much you use their software. Snood does the same thing and also tells you stories about the potential starvation of its author. But Jim Dennis, the author of DeadAim, a popular add-in for AOL Instant Messenger has developed a new tactic: social pressure. Many DeadAIM users frequent the DeadAIM forums to discuss DeadAIM, and instant messaging in general. When a user pays the $5 registration fee, "Purchased DeadAIM" appears under their username in all of their forum posts. Users without the notation are often ribbed by other forum participants.Posted by Adam Wright at 04:52 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 27, 2004
Timing is important in persuasion
When was the last time something happened to you at the perfect time? Maybe... -Your waiter knew just when to refill your glass?-Your boss told you how great you were, just when you were feeling bad about your performance?
-You were going back and forth in a negotiation, about to give up, and the other side finally agreed with your terms? Each of the parties in these examples knew the importance of timing. In persuasion, it's a critically important factor to consider.
Traffic engineers know this--they use interactive signs, usually placed just off the highway, to slow you down at the just the right place. (See an interactive example here; above graphic from the Newton Police Department.) I use timing myself, too. I set Outlook to remind me about certain tasks when I know I'll be free. I never ask for something important when the other person is frazzled, busy, or surrounded by other people. And when I was a kid, I knew the best time to ask my mom for something was when she was on the phone with someone else... Sorry, Mom.
Posted by at 10:12 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 23, 2004
How to learn about persuasion -- 6 books I suggest
People send me email and ask, "How can I learn more about persuasion?" I have 43 persuasion books sitting on a shelf by my desk. Of these, here are the books I usually suggest: 1. Influence by Robert Cialdini (a fun book that also has substance)2. Persuasive Technology by BJ Fogg (okay, so I'm not shy about suggesting my own book)
3. Don't Shoot the Dog by Karen Prior (a dog training guide -- careful readers will see how this relates to persuasive technology)
4. Our Social World by Donald Forsyth (a remarkably good simplification of social psychology) Readers who have more motivation (and money) should also consider these books: 5. Self-Efficacy by Albert Bandura (This is perhaps my favorite book of all. Bandura really understands human nature.) Also --> Earlier summary online
6. The Persuasion Handbook edited by Dillard and Pfau (Uneven in places but still worth the price, this compilation brings together many experts and perspectives.)
Posted by at 01:31 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
April 21, 2004
Manipulation Pattern: First teach, then sell
This year my Stanford course focuses on 10 ways computers can manipulate people. About 45 students are enrolled, and we're having a great time (at least I am!). Yesterday we examined the role of expertise in manipulation. We saw how computing products often follow a pattern: first they teach; then they sell. One student team (Wilson Chew, Gautam Raghavan, and Ross Stewart) showed how this pattern plays out in HowStuffWorks.com. Other examples include TurboTax (source: Alex Cochran) and TrustMyMechanic.com (source: Jordy Mont-Reynaud). If you're a careful observer, you'll notice this pattern in the analog world -- when you buy diamonds, when you go to "free" investment seminars, and so on. The bottom line: You should expect to see this manipulation pattern a lot more often in computing products of the future.Posted by at 07:14 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
April 19, 2004
Video game promotes viewpoint on terrorism
Last week I was away from Stanford, evaluating research proposals for the National Science Foundation, so my teaching assistant led my captology class. The topic: persuasive games. We had asked student to find and demonstrate a computer game designed to influence players. After the week was over, my TA reported back. He said our “Persuasive Game Expo” was a success, but he was concerned about the overt political content of a few games. Yesterday I played one game that concerned my TA: September 12th. In this game players try to kill terrorists. But as you shoot the terrorists, both terrorists and civilians die. The nearby civilians grieve at their losses and then turn into terrorists, like a plague that spreads out of control. You soon realize there’s no way to win. After playing the game I sat down to read the Sunday New York Times. The top story in “Week in Review” described the spread of terrorism. I noted the coincidence between playing the game and this article’s conclusion: “. . . even the most optimistic counterterrorism officials predict the war on terrorism will last for generations.”Posted by at 02:51 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Video game promotes viewpoint on terrorism
Last week I was away from Stanford, evaluating research proposals for the National Science Foundation, so my teaching assistant led my captology class. The topic: persuasive games. We had asked student to find and demonstrate a computer game designed to influence players. After the week was over, my TA reported back. He said our “Persuasive Game Expo” was a success, but he was concerned about the overt political content of a few games. Yesterday I played one game that concerned my TA: September 12th. In this game players try to kill terrorists. But as you shoot the terrorists, both terrorists and civilians die. The nearby civilians grieve at their losses and then turn into terrorists, like a plague that spreads out of control. You soon realize there’s no way to win. After playing the game I sat down to read the Sunday New York Times. The top story in “Week in Review” described the spread of terrorism. I noted the coincidence between playing the game and this article’s conclusion: “. . . even the most optimistic counterterrorism officials predict the war on terrorism will last for generations.”Posted by ptlab at 02:47 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 18, 2004
The web is about persuasion, not information
In our research we continue to find that virtually all web sites have a persuasive purpose. In other words, those who create websites usually want to influence your attitude or behavior in some way. Nobody wants this to be true, but it is. The web is not about sharing information with people -- that's an illusion. In reality, the web is about changing people's attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors. We've recently analyzed the leading websites, and we'll be ready to share our results soon.Posted by at 06:48 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
April 17, 2004
Web persuasion: good or bad?
Is using the Web to change people's behavior inherently good or bad or neither? Are there rules or guidelines that Web developers should follow in order not to abuse a public technology such as the Internet? Can you think of some examples of abuse? How about examples of Web persuasion that are positive? Is there a role in society for some to police the proper use of technology such as the Web?Posted by andrewds at 05:47 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
An explosion of persuasive technology
In 1997 my lab team and I started listing examples of computing systems designed to change people's beliefs and behaviors. At one point we believed we had listed over 80% of all existing examples, so we stopped gathering examples and moved on to other projects (like our web credibility research). Today it would be difficult--if not impossible--to list even 5% of the existing examples of persuasive technology. So much has changed in so little time. Using computing technology to influence people was once a rarity; today, using technology to influence people is commonplace.Posted by at 08:41 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
The web is about persuasion, not information
In 1997 my lab team and I started listing examples of computing systems designed to change people's beliefs and behaviors. At one point we believed we had listed over 80% of all existing examples, so we stopped gathering examples and moved on to other projects. Today it would be difficult--if not impossible--to list even 5% of the existing examples of persuasive technology. So much has changed in so little time. Using computing technology to influence people was once a rarity; today, using technology to influence people is commonplace. Virtually all web sites have some persuasive purpose. Those who create a web site almost always want to influence your attitude or behavior in some way. The web is not about sharing information with people -- that's an illusion. In reality, the web is about changing people's attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors.Posted by bjfogg at 08:31 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 16, 2004
Why put our notebook online?
This online notebook shares some of our lab's insights about how computers can change people's beliefs and behaviors. We hope our words will help people understand captology better. This topic is too important not to share with a wider audience. We invite you to join in our work and conversations.Posted by andrewds at 06:14 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
The Stanford Persuasive Technology Lab's Notebook
Welcome to our new Lab notebook! Our Lab's researchers will be contributing here by writing about the very best and newest in persuasive technology: new research, the commercial and academic applications, and the important intersection of persuasive technology and ethics. Stay tuned...persuasive technology is here.Posted by ptlab at 06:14 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack