Abstract
Research shows that a well-designed user interface is more likely to be persuasive than a poorly designed one. However, there is a limited understanding of the relationship between user-experience (UX) design attributes and users’ receptiveness to the persuasive features of a persuasive technology aimed at motivating behavior change. To bridge this gap, we carried out an online case study among 228 participants from Canada and the United States to investigate the relationship between perceived UX design attributes and users’ receptiveness to persuasive features. The study serves as exploratory work by focusing on a single prototype (homepage of a fitness app); four commonly researched UX design attributes (perceived aesthetics, perceived usability, perceived credibility, and perceived usefulness); and six commonly employed persuasive features (Goal-Setting/Self-Monitoring, Reward, Cooperation, Competition, Social Comparison, and Social Learning) illustrated on storyboards. The results of the Partial Least Square Path Modeling show that perceived usefulness, followed by perceived aesthetics, has the strongest relationship with users’ receptiveness to the persuasive features of a fitness app. Specifically, perceived usefulness and perceived aesthetics have a significant relationship with users’ receptiveness to all but two of the six persuasive features, respectively, as well as with the overall perceived persuasiveness of the fitness app. These findings are supported by participants’ comments on the perceived UX design attributes of the fitness app and the persuasive features illustrated on the storyboards. However, perceived usability and perceived credibility have weak or non-significant relationships with users’ receptiveness to the six persuasive features. The findings suggest that designers should prioritize utilitarian benefits (perceived usefulness) and hedonic benefits (perceived aesthetics) over perceived usability and perceived credibility when designing fitness apps to support behavior change.
Highlights
Introduction published maps and institutional affilPersuasive technologies (PTs) have become pervasive in our day-to-day lives to the extent that they are becoming invisible
We present the results of our Partial Least Square Path Modeling (PLSPM) [14], which shows the significant relationships between the perceived UX design attributes and the overall perceived persuasiveness of a fitness app and users’ receptiveness to its persuasive features
The persuasive features, which are drawn from the PSD model, include Goal-Setting/SelfMonitoring, Reward, Cooperation, Competition, Social Comparison, and Social Learning
Summary
Introduction published maps and institutional affilPersuasive technologies (PTs) have become pervasive in our day-to-day lives to the extent that they are becoming invisible. PTs are interactive systems intentionally designed to change attitude and behavior using the power of persuasion and social influence without deception and coercion [1]. Persuasion is the act of changing human attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors toward something through a human or an electronic means of communication. It is one of the most widely researched areas in the field of social psychology [2]. The second camp views UX as an addition to the traditional notion of usability. Researchers such as Hassenzahl and Tractinsky [20]
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