IHI 98 l 18-23 APRIL 1998 ACM ISBN l-581 13-028-7 SPECIAL

INTEREST GROWS(SIG@

Captology:
The Study of Computers as Persuasive Technologies
BJ Fogg
Sun Microsystems
901 San Antonio Road, MPK17-105
Palo Alto, CA 94303
b.j.fogg@eng.sun.com, bjfogg@acm.org

KEYWORDS For example, an understanding of captology would enhance

Captology, psychology of HCI, persuasion, influence, our strategies for researching or designing-
agents, interaction design * a CD-ROM that persuades children to eat more fruits and
vegetables.
SUMMARY l a financial management PDA that motivates college
“Captology” is a new word that describes the study of students to use their money wisely.
computers as persuasive technologies (see Figure 1; for l a web agent that persuades a retired couple to persist in
more information, see www.captology.org). creating their own home page, even though it seems
difficult.
Persuasion GOALS OF SIG
The goals of the SIG are as follows:
l to gather a core group of CHI members interested in
captology.
l to share recent developments in the field of captology.
l to explore key issues related to persuasive computing,
including ethical issues.
l to further develop frameworks for understanding
persuasive computers.
l to identify key domains for captology applications and
research.
l to create a mechanism for ongoing collaborations.
Figure 1: Captology describes the shaded area where computing
technology and persuasion overlap. STRUCTURE/OUTLINE OF SIG
1. Welcome and overview
Although captology has been on the periphery of various 2. Introductions of attendees and statements of interest
fields for years-including HCI, education, advertising, and 3. Brief introduction to captology
health promotion-it has only recently been conceptualized 4. Demo/presentation of captology products
as a field of its own. CHI 98 presents the HCI community 5. Update on developments in captology
with an opportunity to continue exploring captology as a 6. Small-group discussion in three areas:
distinct area of inquiry, including both theoretical and l theories and frameworks for captology
practical issues. l applications and examples of persuasive computing
ISSUES AND RATIONALE
l ethics of computers that persuade
As computers become increasingly ubiquitous, distributed, 7. Presentation of group work
and specialized, the CHI community has a greater need to 8. Preparation for future collaborations
understand the effects of-and the potentials for-interactive POTENTIAL OUTCOMES OF SIG
technologies that change attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors. l Forming an electronic group to discuss captology.
An understanding of captology not only enriches HCI l Expanding the captology web site (www.captology.org),
theory about how humans interact with computers, but it which functions as a clearinghouse.
can also lead to better design of interactive technologies, l Publishing a SIG summary for the SIGCHI bulletin.
especially those that have the difficult task of persuading l Organizing a panel discussion on captology for a future
users to change attitudes and behaviors in beneficial ways. CHI conference.

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