PERSUASIVE TECHNOLOGY AND GAMIFICATION AT THE WORKPLACE: ENGAGING EMPLOYEES IN EFFECTIVE DOCUMENTATION OF ANALYSIS AND EVALUATIONS

The availability of rich and high-quality data gives organizations the opportunity to make strategic decisions and a competitive edge over their competitors. However, documentation has been known to be a repetitive and tedious task and employees who perform this task may not be inherently motivated and suffer from fatigue, which reflects poorly on the quantity and quality of documentation. This thesis addresses this problem and proposes to use Persuasive Technology and Gamification to engage employees in documentation. Persuasive technology aims to change behaviours and attitudes through the art of persuasion without the use of coercion. Gamification is a type of Persuasive Technology that leverages the persuasive power of games to cause behaviour change in people. A lot of existing research and practice have focused on using Persuasive Technology and Gamification to achieve workplace engagement, motivation and productivity. However, there is little research on the use of Persuasive Technology and Gamification to engage employees in effective documentation of analysis and evaluations. This research aims to fill this gap and explore the feasibility of leveraging Persuasive Technology to encourage employees in documentation of analysis and evaluations. A Requirement-Focused Design Science Research approach was adopted to define requirements for the implementation of a persuasive gamified system to encourage employees in documentation of analysis and evaluations. Two studies were conducted to investigate employee motivation and the susceptibility of employees to various persuasive strategies. The first study was conducted among 20 Applied Behaviour Analysis front-line staff. ABA is data driven, however, front-line staff do not provide sufficiently rich data which is a critical part of the success of ABA. The second study was carried among 55 Graduate Assistants (markers) from the University of Saskatchewan. Providing feedback on assignments is a quintessential part of the learning cycle of students and the availability of feedback that students can understand and execute is required. However, students find feedbacks provided to them often vague, insufficient, or difficult to comprehend. Especially, in the second study, the results depicted a workforce whose engagement in tasks was not self-determined and a description of a perceived low satisfaction of Basic Psychological Needs; Competence, Relatedness and Autonomy. This presents a workforce that will engage in the minimum amount of work required of them without an extra effort in performance. The results of our studies showed that both ABA front-line staff and Graduate Assistants are most susceptible to two persuasive strategies - Commitment and Reciprocity, followed by Authority and least susceptible to Consensus and Scarcity among Cialdini’s persuasive principles. Among the social influence persuasive strategies, employees from both studies were most susceptible to Trustworthiness. Whilst there was no statistically significant difference between the other social influence persuasive strategies (Reward, Competition, Social Comparison, Social Learning) among ABA employees, Graduate Assistants were more susceptible to Reward and Competition and least susceptible to Social Comparison and Social Learning. However, gender and continent of origin influenced the susceptibility of Graduate Assistants to Trustworthiness and Social Learning. North American Males are not influenced by Social Learning in contrast to African Males who influenced by it. Although North American females are least susceptible to Social Learning, they are still influenced by it. These results imply the investment in a persuasive gamified system that will facilitate the satisfaction of the Basic Psychological Needs of employees to increase their intrinsic motivation in effective documentation of analysis and evaluations. Persuasive and game elements that support Rewards, Competition, Trustworthiness, Commitment, Reciprocity and Authority could be used to achieve this. To make these results actionable, requirement guidelines have been recommended for both workplaces based on the insights gathered from the user studies. However, these requirements have not been evaluated. Therefore, future work will involve the design, development and evaluation of a persuasive gamified system based on the requirements specifications. Also, to draw definite conclusions on tailoring persuasive strategies to individuals and groups, future research should consider the impact of other workplace diversity factors that may impact susceptibility to these persuasive strategies

THE EFFECT OF GAMIFIED MHEALTH APP ON EXERCISE MOTIVATION AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

In this study, we propose a research model to assess the effect of a mobile health (mHealth) app on exercise motivation and physical activity of individuals based on the design and self-determination theory. The research model is formulated from the perspective of motivation affordance and gamification. We will discuss how the use of specific gamified features of the mHealth app can trigger/afford corresponding users’ exercise motivations, which further enhance users’ participation in physical activity. We propose two hypotheses to test the research model using a field experiment. We adopt a 3-phase longitudinal approach to collect data in three different time zones, in consistence with approach commonly adopted in psychology and physical activity research, so as to reduce the common method bias in testing the two hypotheses

The Role of Gamification in Health Behavior Change: A Review of Theory-driven Studies

Gamification is increasingly being recognized as a tool to support a change in individuals’ health behaviors. However, how and under which circumstances gamification is able to support health behavior change is still largely unexplored. This study follows the call for more theory-driven research on gamification by investigating the role of gamification in health behavior change theories (HBCTs). In order to do so, we conducted a systematic review of extant literature and identified 25 studies that explore the role of gamification in the process of health behavior change to some extent. We found large discrepancies in how the authors of these studies conceptualized the role of gamification in their theory-driven health interventions. To further strengthen theory-driven research on gamification in health and well-being, we additionally propose concrete research questions. These may guide future researchers to identify valuable avenues for further explaining and predicting the influences of gamification on health behavior change

Wearable Computing for Health and Fitness: Exploring the Relationship between Data and Human Behaviour

Health and fitness wearable technology has recently advanced, making it easier for an individual to monitor their behaviours. Previously self generated data interacts with the user to motivate positive behaviour change, but issues arise when relating this to long term mention of wearable devices. Previous studies within this area are discussed. We also consider a new approach where data is used to support instead of motivate, through monitoring and logging to encourage reflection. Based on issues highlighted, we then make recommendations on the direction in which future work could be most beneficial

Understanding personal and contextual factors to increase motivation in gamified systems

Gamification, the use of game elements in non-game contexts, has been shown to help people reaching their goals, affect people's behavior and enhance the users' experience within interactive systems. However, past research has shown that gamification is not always successful. In fact, literature reviews revealed that almost half of the interventions were only partially successful or even unsuccessful. Therefore, understanding the factors that have an influence on psychological measures and behavioral outcomes of gamified systems is much in need. In this thesis, we contribute to this by considering the context in which gamified systems are applied and by understanding personal factors of users interacting with the system. Guided by Self-Determination Theory, a major theory on human motivation, we investigate gamification and its effects on motivation and behavior in behavior change contexts, provide insights on contextual factors, contribute knowledge on the effect of personal factors on both the perception and effectiveness of gamification elements and lay out ways of utilizing this knowledge to implement personalized gamified systems. Our contribution is manifold: We show that gamification affects motivation through need satisfaction and by evoking positive affective experiences, ultimately leading to changes in people's behavior. Moreover, we show that age, the intention to change behavior, and Hexad user types play an important role in explaining interpersonal differences in the perception of gamification elements and that tailoring gamified systems based on these personal factors has beneficial effects on both psychological and behavioral outcomes. Lastly, we show that Hexad user types can be partially predicted by smartphone data and interaction behavior in gamified systems and that they can be assessed in a gameful way, allowing to utilize our findings in gamification practice. Finally, we propose a conceptual framework to increase motivation in gamified systems, which builds upon our findings and outlines the importance of considering both contextual and personal factors. Based on these contributions, this thesis advances the field of gamification by contributing knowledge to the open questions of how and why gamification works and which factors play a role in this regard.Gamification, die Nutzung von Spielelementen in spielfremden Kontexten, kann nachweislich Menschen helfen, ihre Ziele zu erreichen, das Verhalten von Menschen zu beeinflussen und die Erfahrung der User in interaktiven Systemen zu verbessern. Allerdings hat die bisherige Forschung gezeigt, dass Gamification nicht immer erfolgreich ist. So haben Literaturübersichten ergeben, dass fast die Hälfte der Interventionen nur teilweise erfolgreich oder sogar erfolglos waren. Daher besteht ein großer Bedarf, die Faktoren zu verstehen, die einen Einfluss auf psychologische Maße sowie auf das Verhalten von Usern in gamifizierten Systemen haben. In dieser Arbeit tragen wir dazu bei, indem wir den Kontext, in dem gamifizierte Systeme eingesetzt werden, betrachten und persönliche Faktoren von Usern, die mit dem System interagieren, verstehen. Geleitet von der Selbstbestimmungstheorie, einer der wichtigsten Theorien zur menschlichen Motivation, untersuchen wir Gamification und dessen Auswirkungen auf Motivation und Verhalten in Kontexten zur Verhaltensänderung. Wir liefern Erkenntnisse über kontextuelle Faktoren, tragen Wissen über den Einfluss persönlicher Faktoren auf die Wahrnehmung und Effektivität von Gamification-Elementen bei und bieten Möglichkeiten, dieses Wissen für die Implementierung personalisierter gamifizierter Systeme zu nutzen. Unser Beitrag ist mannigfaltig: Wir zeigen, dass Gamification die Motivation durch Bedürfnisbefriedigung und durch das Hervorrufen positiver affektiver Erfahrungen beeinflusst, was letztlich zu Verhaltensänderungen führen kann. Darüber hinaus zeigen wir, dass das Alter, die Absicht, das Verhalten zu ändern, und Hexad-Usertypen eine wichtige Rolle bei der Erklärung von interpersonellen Unterschieden in der Wahrnehmung von Gamification-Elementen spielen. Ebenso zeigen unsere Resultate dass die Anpassung von gamifizierten Systemen auf Basis dieser persönlichen Faktoren positive Auswirkungen auf psychologische und verhaltensbezogene Ergebnisse hat. Letztlich zeigen wir, dass Hexad-Usertypen teilweise durch Smartphone-Daten und Interaktionsverhalten in gamifizierten Systemen vorhergesagt werden können und dass sie auf spielerische Art und Weise erhoben werden können. Dies ermöglicht, unsere Erkenntnisse in der Gamification-Praxis zu nutzen. Auf Basis dieser Ergebnisse schlagen wir ein konzeptuelles Framework zur Steigerung der Motivation in gamifizierten Systemen vor, das die Wichtigkeit der Berücksichtigung sowohl kontextueller als auch persönlicher Faktoren hervorhebt. Diese Erkenntnisse bereichern das Forschungsfeld Gamification, indem sie Wissen zu den offenen Fragen, wie und warum Gamification funktioniert und welche Faktoren in diesem Zusammenhang eine Rolle spielen, beitragen

DATA ANALYTICS AND PERSUASIVE TECHNOLOGY TO PROMOTE STUDENTS’ ENGAGEMENT AND LEARNING

The use of interactive systems and internet technology nowadays enhance the process of learning as they allow educational resources to be effectively distributed and delivered to students. This gives students the opportunity to learn at their own pace and convenience. Hence, universities employ these computing technologies to aid in teaching and learning in order to meet the needs of diverse learners. Thus, students could engage in learning activities at any time and even outside the four walls of universities. Despite the usefulness of these systems, students find it hard to engage for a long time with these learning resources. They are distracted by so many activities such as chatting, playing games, listening to music, watching movies, etc. As a result, a wide gap exists in academic performance between successful students and unsuccessful one (those that drop out of universities). Therefore, there is a need for research on how to increase students’ motivation to learn. The level of motivation of students to learn and progress in their education determine the length of time they spend on learning-related activities. This research investigated the use of persuasive technology in encouraging students to spend quality time in their learning resources. Persuasive technology describes computer applications which change users’ behaviour or opinion without using coercion or deception. Specifically, this research examined the effect of three social influence strategies of persuasive technology (social comparison, social learning, and competition) on students’ engagement in their learning activities. Socially-oriented strategies recognize the fact that humans are socially-driven and thus, our feeling, behaviour or opinion is affected by that of others (social influence). The strategies were operationalized in a persuasive system as three versions of visualization using students’ assessment grades. The persuasive system was applied to a real university course-based setting to determine its effect on students’ engagement in their learning activities. Quantitative and qualitative approaches were used in determining the effectiveness of the persuasive system versions implementing the three strategies in motivating the students to engage actively in learning activities. The results of this research show that the three socially-oriented strategies of persuasive technology employed can be used in educational software to influence students to achieve a positive goal in their learning. Precisely, the persuasive system attracted and motivated students to spend more time in their learning activities

Beyond Enjoyment: A Cognitive-Emotional Perspective of Gamification

The success of gamified systems depends on their ability to engage players by eliciting both positive and negative emotions, but little guidance exists on creating emotional experiences through gamified design. This paper reviews work in psychology and neuroscience to highlight the interactive processes of cognition and emotion, and describes their relevance to gamification. Drawing on a model of the cognitive structure of emotions, and the mechanics-dynamics-emotions (MDE) framework for gamification, this paper advances a cognitive-emotional perspective of gamification and provides general propositions and directions for future research