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Understanding the Mechanics of Persuasive System Design: A Mixed-Method Theory-driven Analysis of Freeletics

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Published:07 May 2016Publication History

ABSTRACT

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.

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        cover image ACM Conferences
        CHI '16: Proceedings of the 2016 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
        May 2016
        6108 pages
        ISBN:9781450333627
        DOI:10.1145/2858036

        Copyright © 2016 ACM

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        • Published: 7 May 2016

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