Particulars of My Life

Skinner, B. F. Particulars of my life. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1976 Burrhus Frederic Skinner was an American psychologist, behaviorist, author, inventor, and social philosopher. He was a professor of psychology at Harvard University from 1958 until his retirement in 1974. The 1st volume of Skinner\u27s autobiography takes him through childhood, adolescence, college, and life in New York\u27s Greenwich Village in the 1920s, when he was attempting to become a writer until at the age of 24 he gave up literature as a career and went to the graduate department of psychology at Harvard. - PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reservedhttps://digitalcommons.rockefeller.edu/jason-brown-library/1043/thumbnail.jp

La Révolution scientifique de l'enseignement /

2e éd.Bibliogr.: p. 307-310The Technology of teaching

Combating attrition in digital self-improvement programs using avatar customization

Digital self-improvement programs (e.g., interventions, training programs, self-help apps) are widely accessible, but can not employ the same degree of external regulation as programs delivered in controlled environments. As a result, they suffer from high attrition -- even the best programs won't work if people don't use them. We propose that volitional engagement -- facilitated through avatar customization -- can help combat attrition. We asked 250 participants to engage daily for 3 weeks in a one-minute breathing exercise for anxiety reduction, using either a generic avatar or one that they customized. Customizing an avatar resulted in significantly less attrition and more sustained engagement as measured through login counts. The problem of attrition affects self-improvement programs across a range of do-mains; we provide a subtle, versatile, and broadly-applicable solution