Persuasive Technology

The Emergence of “Captology”

The study of computers as persuasive technologies is relatively new. As noted

in the preface, to describe this emerging area, I coined the term “captology”—

an acronym based on the phrase “computers as persuasive technologies.”

Briefly stated, captology focuses on the design, research, and analysis of inter-

active computing products created for the purpose of changing people’s attitudes

or behaviors. It describes the area where technology and persuasion overlap

(Figure 1).

Potential and Pitfalls

When I first began sharing my experimental research on computers and per

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suasion, I received radically different responses. Some ...