Persuasive Technology to Promote Pro‐Environmental Behaviour

Abstract

This chapter discusses the dimensions and scope of persuasive technology and its potential to promote sustainable use of the environment surrounding us. Persuasive technology aims to bridge the gap between technological and psychological contributions to solving environmental problems by intervening in user-system interactions that have environmental consequences. Various approaches to persuasive technology will be introduced including the use of persuasive agents, the provision of new experiences, the use of persuasive ambient technology, and persuasive technology at the group level that acknowledges the social nature of environmental behaviour. A crucial advantage of ambient persuasive technology is that it can continue influencing people, even in daily situations in which cognitive resources are taxed and where interventions that need cognitive attention would not be influential. The use of ambient intelligence decreases the use of cognitive resources which helps to ease behaviour change.