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June 02, 2006
Captology: A Critical Review (now available online)
In a previous post I said that for me the most interesting presentation of Persuasive06 in Eindhoven was a critical review by Bernadine Atkinson. Her paper appeared in the conference proceedings, which I have here on my desk but can't easily share with you. Just now I found a summary online:
Captology: A Critical ReviewBernardine M.C. Atkinson
School for Environmental Research, Institute of Advanced Studies, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, Northern Territory 0909, Australia
Abstract
This critical review of B.J. Fogg's book Persuasive Technology regards captology as an eclectic and formative work. It summarises two other reviewers' work and identifies several new strengths. It scrutinises Fogg's functional triad - computers functioning as tools, media and social actors - and some categorical changes are recommended. It investigates further Johnson's concerns about specific ethical omissions, nominating a new term, compusuasion, for the resultant but unintended, exogenous behaviour/attitude change effects of captological design. The review commences to more carefully define what constitutes persuasion and draws attention to the distinction between persuasion techniques in general and the behavioural changes that result from advocacy and education. The reviewer concludes that a fundamental ethic be that the designer's intent be exposed at the commencement of the user's engagement with the program and proffers the idea of persuasion resulting in a new conviction, induced by others, as a helpful definition of persuasion.
Apparently, you can order a digital version online. In the future my students will read Bernadine's paper. Even though I don't agree with all she says, I think it's important to view captology from different perspectives.
--BJ Fogg
Posted by BJ Fogg at June 2, 2006 07:00 AM