Understanding autonomy, animism and presence as a design strategy for behavior change

Abstract

In this paper we investigate how autonomy, animism and presence of interactive products in daily life can positively influence people to change their behavior. Three interactive products were reviewed and compared on each of these three concepts. Based on this comparison we propose that a product's autonomy is a prerequisite to initiate behavior change when people are unwilling or unable to act, or are unware that action is possible, while animism creates a sense of social engagement between user and product. Presence refers to the availability and readiness of a product to engage people on a daily basis. We conclude with discussing the potentiality of these concepts in developing an integrated design strategy for behavior change.