Background Terminology Forms of Behavioral Theory Uses of Behavioral Theories in HCI Shortcomings / HCI Contributions to Behavioral Theory

1. 04/04 랩미팅
박사과정 김민준
1. Background
2. Terminology
3. Forms of Behavioral Theory
4. Uses of Behavioral Theories in HCI
5. Shortcomings / HCI Contributions to Behavioral Theory
Behavioral Change Theories in HCI

2. 1. Background

3. 1. Background
My interests
: using technology to “nudge” or change people’s behavior
: understanding the user in a log-based manner
In HCI, this is called captology, or persuasive tech.
An abundance of works in captology draw on behavioral change theories
and behavioral economics
Goals of today:
1. provide an overview of different forms of behavioral theory,
2. discuss the current uses of behavioral theory in HCI
3. notice the shortcomings of behavior theories,
4. finding ways to use behavioral theories/economics in HCI research

4. A common definition of behavioral theory proposed by Glanz and Rimer:
“…a systematic way of understanding events or situations. It is a set of concepts,
definitions, and propositions that explain or predict these events situations by
illustrating the relationships between variables.”
2. Terminology

5. Constructs
: fundamental components of a behavioral theory
Variables
: operational definitions of the constructs, particularly as they are defined in context
Design guidelines
: the principles formulated by HCI researchers to make behavioral theory and
empirical findings actionable for designing behavior change technologies
Behavior change technologies
: the broad array of systems and artifacts developed to foster and assist behavior
change and sustainment
Definitions
2. Terminology

6. 3. Forms of Behavioral Theory
Forms of behavioral theory across levels of generality

7. 3. Forms of Behavioral Theory
Meta-models
: organizational structures of multiple levels of influence on individual behavior
example) social ecological model:
in health-related behavioral science, this model identifies broad “levels” of inter-
related associations and factors of influence on a behavior of interest.
• micro-level factors such as genetics and biology,
• meso-level factors such as interpersonal relationships and,
• macro-level factors such as urban design, public policy, and culture.
meta-models are valuable for identifying the “lens” a researcher is using and other
“lenses” not currently emphasized by the researcher or the community at large.
Authors’ notes:
1. meta-models are typically short on specifics about determinants of behavior
2. too often meta-models have too many levels of influence to adequately evaluate
3. The use of meta-models in design requires a great deal of conceptual and formative work
to translate into pragmatic design guideliness and system features

8. 3. Forms of Behavioral Theory
Conceptual Frameworks
: describe relationships among the fundamental building blocks of a behavioral theory,
constructs, and provide a more specific account of how constructs are inter-related
Conceptual frameworks encompass several commonly used theories, including:
• Transtheoretical model
• Self-efficacy theory
• Theory of planned behavior
• Health belief model
• Self-determination theory
Authors’ notes:
1. conceptual frameworks provide more specific guidance to the design and implementation
2. have the potential to disregard key factors that may be influencing a behavior

9. 3. Forms of Behavioral Theory
Constructs
: the basic determinants or mechanisms that a theory postulates to influence behavior
Authors’ notes:
1. A common practice is to selectively use constructs from one or more theories.have the potential
to disregard key factors that may be influencing a behavior
2. this practice makes it difficult to evaluate the utility of the entire conceptual framework
as the entire framework was not tested.
example) social cognitive theory and self-efficacy
: holds that portions of an individual's knowledge acquisition can be directly
related to observing others within the context of social interactions, experiences,
and outside media influences.
self-efficacy (construct), along with other constructs such as outcome expectancies
are key determinant of behavior.

10. 3. Forms of Behavioral Theory
Empirical Findings
: used when previously developed theories are insufficient to guide HCI research
In such cases, additional empirical work — often in the form of ethnographic and
other qualitative approaches — can generate knowledge necessary to establish a
starting point for design.
Empirical findings, by virtue of being observed in a given context, must be abstracted
in some way to create generalized knowledge.
Findings from empirical work should not directly be generalized.
: such generalizations should be tempered by factors such as the target
participant group, study length and size, and other relevant contexts.

11. 4. Uses of Behavioral Theories in HCI
1. to inform the design of technical systems
2. to guide evaluation strategies
3. to define target users
Three broad uses of behavioral theory in HCI

12. 4. Uses of Behavioral Theories in HCI
Informing the design of technical systems
• Weekly activity goals based on goal-setting theory
• Rewards for performed behavior on the transtheoretical model
• stylized display of performance information based on
Goffman’s theory of presentation of self in everyday life
Sunny Consolvo, David W. McDonald, and James A. Landay. 2009. Theory-driven design strategies for technologies that support
behavior change in everyday life. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '09). ACM
example) UbiFit

13. 4. Uses of Behavioral Theories in HCI
Informing the design of technical systems
• Used the construct of ‘breakdown’ from the
theory of sensemaking to support reflection
and problem-solving
Lena Mamykina, Elizabeth Mynatt, Patricia Davidson, and Daniel Greenblatt. 2008. MAHI: investigation of social scaffolding for reflective
thinking in diabetes management. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '08)
example) MAHI
breakdown: times when everyday routines are
interrupted by an unexpected or undesirable event
that forces the individual to make sense of what
happened and to create a new story that explains
the experience

14. 4. Uses of Behavioral Theories in HCI
Informing the design of technical systems
Moving forward:
While we believe strongly in the value of empirical data for generating design
guidelines, given the relatively limited amount of empirical data behind many
proposed design guidelines, we suggest that the guidelines are more akin to
“design hypotheses,” which require additional testing.
HCI researchers who translate theory into systems should pay close attention to
issues such as the specific behavior in question (e.g., physical activity, diet,
sustainability), user characteristics ( e.g., age, education, values), and the
sociocultural context (e.g., Latino diabetic high schoolers).
By investigating how technologies with similar theoretical grounding fare in different
cultural contexts, the field can begin to develop both more nuanced design guidelines
and to inform the development of better behavioral theories.

15. 4. Uses of Behavioral Theories in HCI
Guiding evaluation strategies
Min Kyung Lee, Sara Kiesler, and Jodi Forlizzi. 2011. Mining behavioral economics to design persuasive technology for healthy choices.
In Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '11)
example) Mining Behavioral Economics to Design Persuasive
Technology for Healthy Choices
• based on the behavioral economics construct of default bias
(i.e., a person tends to pick the first available option).

16. 4. Uses of Behavioral Theories in HCI
Guiding evaluation strategies
Lena Mamykina, Elizabeth Mynatt, Patricia Davidson, and Daniel Greenblatt. 2008. MAHI: investigation of social scaffolding for reflective
thinking in diabetes management. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '08)
Moving forward:
Few HCI researchers have the resources to conduct large-scale randomized
trials of their prototypes. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) remain the
gold standard of efficacy research in behavioral science, but some study
designs and analytic strategies can be utilized in HCI research:
1. meditational/path and moderation analyses
2. alternative experimental designs
3. evaluations of qualitative data

17. 4. Uses of Behavioral Theories in HCI
Selecting target users
Helen Ai He, Saul Greenberg, and Elaine M. Huang. 2010. One size does not fit all: applying the transtheoretical model to energy
feedback technology design. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '10).
Transtheoretical model: different user groups will have diverse needs and
interventions that effectively support one group might be ineffective for another.
example) One size does not fit all: Applying the transtheoretical model
to energy feedback technology design

18. 4. Uses of Behavioral Theories in HCI
Selecting target users
Moving forward:
Researchers should be specific about the characteristics of users who
are testing the behavior change technologies. If study participants do not
match the target user group sufficiently closely, it becomes very difficult to
make sense of study results, increasing the likelihood of type III error (i.e.,
finding null results when the hypothesis was never tested in the first place).
… theory could be used post hoc to understand different patterns of use
and outcomes among study participants.

19. 5. Shortcomings / HCI Contributions to Behavioral Theory
1. most behavioral theories explain only a small portion of variance in the
outcomes they are trying to account for;
2. many behavioral theories are not falsifiable (in their current form); and
3. there is a fragmentation and an over-abundance of different theories.
Shortcomings of Behavioral Theories
1. improving measurement and, by extension, fostering better theories of behavior
2. enhancing early-stage theory fidelity, and
3. using big data and A/B testing.
How can HCI improve Behavioral Theory?

20. 5. Shortcomings / HCI Contributions to Behavioral Theory
most behavioral theories explain only a small portion of variance in the
outcomes they are trying to account for
Shortcomings of Behavioral Theories: Domino Effect
B.T.
20 ~ 30%
Unmeasured and Unknown
Total Behavioral Variance
Theories and evaluations that preclude falsification
most behavioral theories explain only a small portion of variance in the
outcomes they are trying to account for

21. 5. Shortcomings / HCI Contributions to Behavioral Theory
1. improving measurement and, by extension, fostering better theories of behavior
How can HCI improve Behavioral Theory?
The problem of many behavioral theories:
• Studies are mainly relied on self-report measures, which leads to
• the infrequent assessing of key variables, which leads to
• the small variance explained by such theories and lack of testing

22. 5. Shortcomings / HCI Contributions to Behavioral Theory
How can HCI improve Behavioral Theory?
2. enhancing early-stage theory fidelity
Enable the development of a different kind of theory
• personalized models,
• see dynamic models of factors that influence behavior of a person, and
• the model could be continuously tuned and improved.
3. using big data and A/B testing.
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