| Avatars and Expectations: Influencing Perceptions of Trustworthiness in an Online Consumer Setting | | BIBAK | PDF | 7-28 | |
| Rory McGloin; Kristine L. Nowak; James Watt | |||
| This study investigates how individuals process an online product review
when an avatar is included to represent the peer reviewer. The researchers
predicted that both perceived avatar and textual credibility would have a
positive influence on perceptions of source trustworthiness and the data
supported this prediction. Expectancy violations theory also predicted that
discrepancies between the perceived avatar and textual credibility would
produce violations. Violations were statistically captured using a residual
analysis. The results of this research ultimately demonstrated that
discrepancies in perceived avatar and textual credibility can have a
significant impact on perceptions of source trustworthiness. These findings
suggest that predicting perceived source trustworthiness in an online consumer
review setting goes beyond the linear effects of avatar and textual
credibility. Keywords: Source trustworthiness, expectancy violations, online peer reviews, avatar
credibility, residual analysis | |||
| Amygdala Activation in Response to 2D and 3D Emotion-Inducing Stimuli | | BIBAK | PDF | 29-43 | |
| Artemisa R. Dores; Fernando Barbosa; Luìs Monteiro; Mafalda Reis; Carlos Coelho; Eduardo Ribeiro; Miguel Leitão; Irene P. Carvalho; Liliana Sousa; Alexandre Castro-Caldas | |||
| Studying changes in brain activation according to the valence of
emotion-inducing stimuli is essential in the research on emotions. Due to the
ecological potential of virtual reality, it is also important to examine
whether brain activation in response to emotional stimuli can be modulated by
the three-dimensional (3D) properties of the images. This study uses functional
Magnetic Resonance Imaging to compare differences between 3D and standard (2D)
visual stimuli in the activation of emotion-related brain areas. The stimuli
were organized in three virtual-reality scenarios, each with a different
emotional valence (pleasant, unpleasant and neutral). The scenarios were
presented in a pseudo-randomized order in the two visualization modes to twelve
healthy males. Data were analyzed through a GLM-based fixed effects procedure.
Unpleasant and neutral stimuli activated the right amygdala more strongly when
presented in 3D than in 2D. These results suggest that 3D stimuli, when used as
"building blocks" for virtual environments, can induce increased emotional
loading, as shown here through neuroimaging. Keywords: Virtual reality, 3D/2D visual stimuli, valence (pleasant, unpleasant,
neutral), amygdala, functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) | |||
| Good spellers write more textism than bad spellers in instant messaging: The case of French | | BIBAK | PDF | 45-63 | |
| Tonia Lanchantin; Aurée SimoëPerlant; Pierre Largy | |||
| The increased use of digital writing has led to the emergence of a new form
of communication between discourse and writing. We elaborated a research
protocol to target the processes linked to the use of instant messaging to look
for differences in the use of spelling modifications as a function of French
students' spelling levels. The task required students to use Digital Writing in
Instant Messaging (DWIM) in a semi-natural situation. Analyses showed that
modifications that may be confused with misspellings in traditional writing
(i.e. substitutions like "sa" instead of "ça") occurred more often than
those that may not (e.g. reductions/ alterations like "chepa" instead of "je ne
sais pas"), regardless of spelling level. These results show no impact of the
use of DWIM on the quality of spelling (for good spellers only). Keywords: Instant messaging (textism), Teenagers, Spelling, Writing, Writing | |||
| Persuasive Ways to Change Entrance Use of Buildings | | BIBAK | PDF | 71-86 | |
| Johannes de Boer; Dirk K. J. Heylen; Wouter B. Teeuw | |||
| People tend to use the same door every time they enter and exit a building.
When certain entrances are widely preferred over others, congestion can occur.
This paper describes two interventions to persuade visitors to use another
entrance. The first intervention used sensory deprivation (darkness), and the
second used guidance paths. The first intervention on sensory deprivation had
the expected outcome. This intervention resulted in an avoidance of the
darkened door. The second intervention had a result contrary to the
expectations; it resulted in an increased preference for the door without
guidance paths. Keywords: Behavioural safety, persuasive safety, safety at work, walking pattern,
senses, darkness, guidance paths | |||
| Influencing the Others' Minds: An Experimental Evaluation of the Use and Efficacy of Fallacious-Reducible Arguments in Web and Mobile Technologies | | BIBAK | PDF | 87-105 | |
| Antonio Lieto; Fabiana Vernero | |||
| The research in Human Computer Interaction (HCI) has nowadays extended its
attention to the study of persuasive technologies. Following this line of
research, in this paper we focus on websites and mobile applications in the
e-commerce domain. In particular, we take them as an evident example of
persuasive technologies. Starting from the hypothesis that there is a strong
connection between logical fallacies, i.e., forms of reasoning which are
logically invalid but psychologically persuasive, and some common persuasion
strategies adopted within these technological artifacts, we carried out a
survey on a sample of 175 websites and 101 mobile applications. This survey was
aimed at empirically evaluating the significance of this connection by
detecting the use of persuasion techniques, based on logical fallacies, in
existing websites and mobile apps. In addition, with the goal of assessing the
effectiveness of different fallacy-based persuasion techniques, we performed an
empirical evaluation where participants interacted with a persuasive
(fallacy-based) and with a non-persuasive version of an e-commerce website. Our
results show that fallacy-based persuasion strategies are extensively used in
existing digital artifacts, and that they are actually effective in influencing
users' behavior, with strategies based on visual salience manipulation (accent
fallacy) being both the most popular and the most effective ones. Keywords: Mobile persuasion, web persuasion, logical fallacies, captology, e-commerce | |||
| Watch your Emissions: Persuasive Strategies and Choice Architecture for Sustainable Decisions in Urban Mobility | | BIBAK | PDF | 107-126 | |
| Efthimios Bothos; Sebastian Prost; Johann Schrammel; Kathrin Röer; Gregoris Mentzas | |||
| Persuasive technologies are suitable for encouraging green transportation
behaviour towards CO2 emissions reduction. For example, such technologies can
guide and support users in finding trips that cause low emissions and in the
long term change their behaviour and habits towards more sustainable transport
decisions. In this paper, we focus on persuasive strategies supported by a
choice architecture approach and incorporated in a smartphone application,
aiming at providing urban travellers with a solution that will influence them
to consider the environmental friendliness of travel modes while planning a
route. We focus specifically on the persuasive strategies of Reduction,
Tailoring, Tunnelling, Cause-and-Effect Simulation and Suggestion. The choice
architecture approach leverages routing options and results of a commercial
routing engine in order to provide proper default options as well as filter and
structure the results according to user preferences and contexts while
emphasizing environmentally friendly routes. Our approach is integrated in a
route-planning assistant for everyday use that is implemented for Android
mobile phones and follows a client-server architecture. An evaluation with 24
participants using the system for 8 weeks showed good acceptance of our
approach, increased environmental impact awareness, and qualitative comments
also conveyed instances of behavioural change. Keywords: Persuasive strategies and technologies, choice architecture, CO2 emission
reduction, urban mobility | |||