Chatbots As A Mean To Motivate Behavior Change : How To Inspire Pro-Environmental Attitude with Chatbot Interfaces

Sammanfattning: With an expanding access of decision supporting technologies and a growing demand for lowered carbon dioxide emissions, sustainable development with the help of modern interfaces has become a subject for discussion. There are different opinions on how to motivate users to live more pro-environmentally and to lower their carbon dioxide emissions with modern technology. This paper analyses the use of chatbots as a mean to motivate people to live more sustainable lives.  To evaluate the field, a literature study was conducted covering eco-feedback technology, recommender systems, conversational user interfaces, and motivation for pro-environmental behavior. The effect of motivational factors from behavioral psychology were tested, and their impact on peoples food consumption habits. The findings of this paper were based on three chatbot prototypes; one that is built on the motivational factor of information, a second one that is implemented on the motivational factor of goal-setting, and a third one that follows the motivational factor of comparison. Twenty-seven persons participated in the study, seven people at the early stages of the project, and twenty people that used the chatbots. The user experience of the chatbots was evaluated, resulting in guidelines on how to design for chatbot interfaces and behavior change. The result from the user interviews indicates that chatbots can affect and motivate people to consume food in a more sustainable way.