Persuasive Computing: A definition and the role of intent By BJ Fogg, Ph.D. What is a persuasive computer? Simply put, a persuasive computer is an interactive technology that changes a person's attitudes or behaviors. A definition of persuasion The psychology literature suggests many definitions for the word "persuasion." After reviewing the work of various scholars, I've synthesized what I think are the best definitions to define "persuasion" as-- "an attempt to shape, reinforce, or change behaviors, feelings, or thoughts about an issue, object, or action." Persuasion implies intentionality One key point implicit in my definition is that true persuasion must be the result of an attempt to change attitudes or behaviors; in other words, persuasion requires intentionality. Therefore, not all behavior or attitude change is the result of persuasion. For example, a rain storm may cause people to buy umbrellas, but the storm is not a persuasive event because it has no intentionality associated with it. (However, if an umbrella manufacturer could somehow cause rain, then the rain storm would qualify as a persuasive tactic.) Computers do not possess intentionality Because machines do not have intentions, a computer qualifies as a persuasive technology only when those who create, distribute, or adopt the technology do so with an intent to affect human attitudes or behaviors. To be clear, the persuasive nature of a computer does not reside with the object itself; a computer being classified as "persuasive" depends on the context of creation, distribution, and adoption. Three types of intent: endogenous, exogenous, autogenous For the purposes of captology, I propose three kinds of persuasive intent: endogenous, exogenous, autogenous. A computer technology has endogenous intent when the designer or producer creates a technology with at least some intent to persuade users in some way. In contrast, a computer has exogenous intent when a person uses a technology for persuasive purposes. And when a person uses a technology to change his or her own attitudes or behaviors, this is autogenous intent. The following table makes this idea clearer. Type of intent Where intent come from  Example Endogenous "from within" Those who create or produce the interactive technology A CD-ROM is created to motivate kids to eat more fruits and vegetables Exogenous "caused by external factors" Those who give access to or distribute the interactive technology to others A mother may give her son a Pilot PDA in hopes that he will become more organized. Autogenous "self-produced" The person adopting or using the interactive technology A person may buy and use a calorie-counting computer to help change his or her own eating behavior. Computers do possess varying abilities to persuade Even though computers do not qualify as "persuasive technologies" without human intentions as part of the mix, computers that do qualify as persuasive have varying levels of impact. In other words, some interactive technologies can change attitudes and behaviors better than others can, even when all other factors (like intentions or context of use) are equal. So what makes one interactive technologies more persuasive than another? Certainly, there is no simple answer. But understanding what gives an interactive technology more or less persuasive impact is a key endeavor in captology. Home More Info Examples & Designs Stanford Course Please direct all questions and comments to <bjfogg@stanford.edu>