CONSUMERS\u27 PERCEPTIONS OF A VIRTUAL HEALTH CHECK: AN EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATION

After years of the development of information systems (IS) designed primarily for healthcare managers and professionals, there is an increasing interest in reaching consumers and patients directly through consumer health information technology (IT). Consumer-centric health information systems enable individuals to manage their health better and maintain a healthier lifestyle. However, the foremost challenge in developing systems for health behavior change is that there is modest knowledge of how individuals interact with these systems and how they process and act on information. In addition, technologies cannot have the capacity to help facilitate self-monitoring and self-management or improve consumers\u27 health outcomes if the consumers do not adopt them. The objective of this study is to investigate consumers? perceptions of a virtual health check. Specifically, we propose and test factors affecting perceived persuasiveness of the system and whether perceived persuasiveness predicts intention to adopt virtual health coaching. A theoretically driven research model is constructed, and a structural equation modeling (SEM) approach, namely partial least squares (PLS), is used to test the model against the data gathered from 130 subjects. The results of the study lend support to the proposed model. Studying the adoption, use, and impact of innovative consumer health IT is worthwhile, as it will guide future implementations

Consideration of persuasive technology on users acceptance of e-commerce: exploring perceived persuasiveness

Persuasive technologies, used within in the domain of interactive technology, are used broadly in social contexts to encourage customers towards positive behavior change. In the context of e-commerce, persuasive technologies have already been extensively applied in the area of marketing to enhancing system credibility, however the issue of ‘persuasiveness’, and its role on positive user acceptance of technology, has not been investigated in the technology acceptance literature. This paper reviews theories and models of users’ acceptance and use in relation with persuasive technology, and identifies their limitation when considering the impact of persuasive technology on users’ acceptance of technology; thus justifying a need to add consideration of ‘perceived persuasiveness’. We conclude by identifying variables associated with perceived persuasiveness, and suggest key research directions for future research

Empirical Findings On Persuasiveness Of Recommender Systems For Customer Decision Support In Electronic Commerce

More and more companies are making online presence by opening online stores and providing customers with company and products information but the overwhelming amount of information also creates information overload for the customers. Customers feel frustrated when given too many choices while companies face the problem of turning browsers into actual buyers. Online recommender systems have been adopted to facilitate customer product search and provide personalized recommendation in the market place. The study will compare the persuasiveness of different online recommender systems and the factors influencing customer preferences. Review of the literature does show that online recommender systems provide customers with more choices, less effort, and better accuracy. Recommender systems using different technologies have been compared for their accuracy and effectiveness. Studies have also compared online recommender systems with human recommendations 4 and recommendations from expert systems. The focus of the comparison in this study is on the recommender systems using different methods to solicit product preference and develop recommendation message. Different from the technology adoption and acceptance models, the persuasive theory used in the study is a new perspective to look at the end user issues in information systems. This study will also evaluate the impact of product complexity and product involvement on recommendation persuasiveness. The goal of the research is to explore whether there are differences in the persuasiveness of recommendation given by different recommender systems as well as the underlying reasons for the differences. Results of this research may help online store designers and ecommerce participants in selecting online recommender systems so as to improve their products target and advertisement efficiency and effectiveness

Promoting Sustainable Mobility Beliefs with Persuasive and Anthropomorphic Design: Insights from an Experiment with a Conversational Agent

Sustainable mobility behavior is increasingly relevant due to the vast environmental impact of current transportation systems. With the growing variety of transportation modes, individual decisions for or against specific mobility options become more and more important and salient beliefs regarding the environmental impact of different modes influence this decision process. While information systems have been recognized for their potential to shape individual beliefs and behavior, design-oriented studies that explore their impact, in particular on environmental beliefs, remain scarce. In this study, we contribute to closing this research gap by designing and evaluating a new type of artifact, a persuasive and human-like conversational agent, in a 2x2 experiment with 225 participants. Drawing on the Theory of Planned Behavior and Social Response Theory, we find empirical support for the influence of persuasive design elements on individual environmental beliefs and discover that anthropomorphic design can contribute to increasing the persuasiveness of artifacts

Evaluation of perceived persuasiveness constructs by combining user tests and expert assessments

To develop effective behaviour change support systems, persuasive technology can be used. The persuasive systems design model offers a framework to identify and operationalize such elements. In this pilot study, we evaluate the questionnaire developed to measure perceived persuasiveness of information technology. We analyzed verbatim user-test transcripts, and performed expert-assessments of the Nurse Antibiotic Information App (NAIA). These data were compared to questionnaire results on this app. Expert-assessment identified task support, perceived persuasiveness, unobtrusiveness, credibility, perceived effort and perceived effectiveness (as defined in the Persuasive Systems Design model) as being present within the NAIA. These constructs also scored satisfactory in the questionnaire. User-test transcripts are in line with questionnaire results. Given the consistent results in this pilot study, our approach seems promising for evaluating the questionnaire and will be applied to other settings and websites/application

Talking the Talk: The Effect of Vocalics in an Interview

Our voices carry more than just content. People continuously make assumptions of one’s intelligence, credibility, personality, and other characteristics merely based on the way we talk. As the diversity of individuals in the workplace increases, so too do the differences in how those individuals talk. It is important that we understand how these different ways of speaking are being perceived in the workplace. More specifically, how are individuals being perceived prior to being hired via the interview process? This Honors Capstone project aims to understand the impact that vocal characteristics in an individual have on the interviewer’s perception of the interviewee, and how that impacts the hiring process. This project will offer professionals of all ages tangible advice on ways to increase one’s chances of receiving a job just by altering aspects of one’s voice

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

Persuasiveness of Web 2.0 Technologies in an Educational Context

The use of the application of web 2.0 technologies such as social media, blogs, youtube, and line in everyday communication is commonplace. The use of these technologies in communication can bring persuasiveness aspect for users. Therefore, feasibility and suitability of the web 2.0 technologies as persuasive technologies need to be prepared and analyzed. This study focuses on aspects of the web 2.0 technology acceptance as persuasive on students in an education system. Higher education students were selected as the participants of this study. A PLS-SEM analysis was conducted to measure the potential effect of the web 2.0 technologies as persuasive technology using TAM, UTAUT and Persuasive Potential Questionnaire. This study found that the dimensions of Perceived Persuasive Individual Potential and Intention to Use the System affects the user’s intention leading to changes in students’ behavior

Follow Me If You Want to Live - Understanding the Influence of Human-Like Design on Users’ Perception and Intention to Comply with COVID-19 Education Chatbots

Following recommendations and complying with behavioral attitudes is one major key in overcoming global pandemics, such as COVID-19. As the World Health Organization (WHO) highlights, there is an increased need to follow hygiene standards to prevent infections and in reducing the risk of infections transmissions (World-Health-Organization, 2021). This urgent need offers new use cases of digital services, such as conversational agents that educate and inform individuals about relevant counter measurements. Specifically, due to the increased fatigue in the population in the context of COVID-19, (Franzen and Wöhner, 2021), CAs can play a vital role in supporting and attaining user’s behavior. We conducted an experiment (n=116) to analyze the effect of a human-like-design CA on the intention to comply. Our results show a significant impact of a human-like design on the perception of humanness, source credibility, and trust, which are all (directly or indirectly) drivers of the intention to comply