Persuasive Technology: Using Computers to Change What We Think and Do

Can computers change what you think and do? Can they motivate you to stop smoking, persuade you to buy insurance, or convince you to join the Army?

"Yes, they can," says Dr. B.J. Fogg, director of the Persuasive Technology Lab at Stanford University. Fogg has coined the phrase "Captology"(an acronym for computers as persuasive technologies) to capture the domain of research, design, and applications of persuasive computers.In this thought-provoking book, based on nine years of research in captology, Dr. Fogg reveals how Web sites, software applications, and mobile devices can be used to change people's attitudes and behavior. Technology designers, marketers, researchers, consumers—anyone who wants to leverage or simply understand the persuasive power of interactive technology—will appreciate the compelling insights and illuminating examples found inside.

Persuasive technology can be controversial—and it should be. Who will wield this power of digital influence? And to what end? Now is the time to survey the issues and explore the principles of persuasive technology, and B.J. Fogg has written this book to be your guide.

* Filled with key term definitions in persuasive computing
*Provides frameworks for understanding this domain
*Describes real examples of persuasive technologies

Foreword by Philip Zimbardo, Ph.D
Preface
Introduction: Persuasion in the Digital Age
Chapter 1: Overview of Captology
Chapter 2: The Functional Triad: Computers in Persuasive Roles
Chapter 3: Computers as Persuasive Tools
Chapter 4: Computers as Persuasive Media: Simulation
Chapter 5: Computers as Persuasive Social Actors
Cbapter 6: Credibility and Computers
Chapter 7: Credibility and the World Wide Web
Chapter 8: Increasing Persuasion Through Mobility and Connectivity
Chapter 9: The Ethics of Persuasive Technology
Chapter 10: Captology: Looking Forward
Appendix: Summary of Principles
Figure Credits
Index
About the Author