Is two better than one?:Effects of multiple agents on user persuasion

Virtual humans need to be persuasive in order to promote behaviour change in human users. While several studies have focused on understanding the numerous aspects that influence the degree of persuasion, most of them are limited to dyadic interactions. In this paper, we present an evaluation study focused on understanding the effects of multiple agents on user's persuasion. Along with gender and status (authoritative & peer), we also look at type of focus employed by the agent i.e., user-directed where the agent aims to persuade by addressing the user directly and vicarious where the agent aims to persuade the user, who is an observer, indirectly by engaging another agent in the discussion. Participants were randomly assigned to one of the 12 conditions and presented with a persuasive message by one or several virtual agents. A questionnaire was used to measure perceived interpersonal attitude, credibility and persuasion. Results indicate that credibility positively affects persuasion. In general, multiple agent setting, irrespective of the focus, was more persuasive than single agent setting. Although, participants favored user-directed setting and reported it to be persuasive and had an increased level of trust in the agents, the actual change in persuasion score reflects that vicarious setting was the most effective in inducing behaviour change. In addition to this, the study also revealed that authoritative agents were the most persuasive

Rationale behind socially influencing design choices for health behavior change

Abstract Persuasive technologies for health behavior change often include social influence features. Social influence in the design of persuasive technology has been described as a black box. This case study sheds light on design practices by identifying factors that affect the design of social influence features in health behavior change applications and the designers’ understanding of the social influence aspects. Our findings are twofold: First, the two most positively inclined social influence features, namely cooperation and normative influence, were missing from the reviewed applications. Second, the medical condition — the persuasive technology targets — has a major influence on consideration and integration of social influence features in health behavior change applications. Our findings should be taken into account when frameworks and guidelines are created for the design of social influence features in health behavior change applications

Microvascular changes in the peripheral microcirculation of women with chronic pelvic pain due to congestion

10.1111/j.1471-0528.2002.01424.xBJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology1098867-873BIOG

Persuasive Cities for Sustainable Wellbeing: Quantified Communities

Can you imagine a city that feels, understands, and cares about your wellbeing? Future cities will reshape human behavior in countless ways. New strategies and models are required for future urban spaces to properly respond to human activity, environmental conditions, and market dynamics. Persuasive urban systems will play an important role in making cities more livable and resource-efficient by addressing current environmental challenges and enabling healthier routines. Persuasive cities research aims at improving wellbeing across societies through applications of socio-psychological theories and their integration with conceptually new urban designs. This research presents an ecosystem of future cities, describes three generic groups of people depending on their susceptibility to persuasive technology, explains the process of defining behavior change, and provides tools for social engineering of persuasive cities. Advancing this research is important as it scaffolds scientific knowledge on how to design persuasive cities and refines guidelines for practical applications in achieving their emergence