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.

B.J. Fogg directs research and design at Stanford University's Persuasive Technology Lab. An experimental psychologist, Dr. Fogg also teaches in Stanford’s Department of Computer Science and School of Education. He holds several patents, and his work has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal.