Cast your bread upon the waters

Every week or so I get a request for an interview from a research student, often they are about my time with Mr Tony. Although my diary is overcrowded I try to say ‘yes’ to most requests knowing how hard it is for many researchers to get access. And occasionally in conversation with the researcher I find am learning as well as teaching.

This morning was just such a time.

A bright personable student from Imperial (I’ll save him the embarrassment of being named) came to discuss his Masters on ‘Persuasive Technology’. Despite reading Nudge and other similar works in the broad field of behaviour change theory, this was a new term on me.

It turns out this is the field of research into devices like the ambient orb, a domestic device which flashes red when energy consumption passes a certain threshold and, apparently, incentivises people to turn stuff off.

There is a department of persuasive technology at Stanford which has already spawned a sub discipline dedicated to persuasive software called captology and a project at Brunel. (The scale and pace of research on cognition and behaviour is spawning many new inter-disciplines, most notable social neuroscience) 

The obvious critique of this ‘new’ field of research is that it is just sustainable design by another name. But the focus here is not on sustainable materials or low energy usage but explicitly on shaping behaviour.

So whilst sustainable design for a car might be about engine efficiency and the scope for recycling the vehicle at the end of its life, persuasive technology might focus on how to encourage motorists to drive at the best speed to reduce fuel consumption, or even not use their car at all for short journeys.

What excited me about the conversation was the scope for new processes of innovation bringing together scientists, designers, behavioural experts and others to develop persuasive technologies, in relation not just to sustainability but to many other aspects of the ‘social aspiration gap’.

Sounds like a classic RSA project so watch this space.     

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