Abstract
Recently, using design to change user behavior for the purpose of sustainability has gained considerable interest. One of the essential aspects of design for behavior change is to choose the right design intervention strategy for the right behaviors and for the right individuals. In this respect, consideration of different user characteristics when designing for behavior change is critical to ensure positive behavior change. This paper argues that user diversity can be addressed by grouping users with similar characteristics into different user types. It provides a framework and a methodology to create these user types based on psychological variables including global environmental attitude, attitude towards behavior, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, intention and finally personality traits. It discusses how the framework and the methodology could be integrated into design process, and illustrates the process by using hypothetical user types. The aim of this illustration is to clarify the predicted outcome of the methodology. As a result, four main user types are proposed: irresponsible users, undecided users, worried users and lastly enthusiastic users. Design intervention strategies are matched with these user types and the paper concludes with a brief discussion on the implications of the framework and methodology for design for pro-environmental behavior change.
Keywords
Design for behavior change, user types, pro-environmental behavior
Citation
Coskun, A., and Erbug, C. (2014) User diversity in design for behavior change, in Lim, Y., Niedderer, K., Redström, J., Stolterman, E. and Valtonen, A. (eds.), Design's Big Debates - DRS International Conference 2014, 16-19 June, Umeå, Sweden. https://dl.designresearchsociety.org/drs-conference-papers/drs2014/researchpapers/44
User diversity in design for behavior change
Recently, using design to change user behavior for the purpose of sustainability has gained considerable interest. One of the essential aspects of design for behavior change is to choose the right design intervention strategy for the right behaviors and for the right individuals. In this respect, consideration of different user characteristics when designing for behavior change is critical to ensure positive behavior change. This paper argues that user diversity can be addressed by grouping users with similar characteristics into different user types. It provides a framework and a methodology to create these user types based on psychological variables including global environmental attitude, attitude towards behavior, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, intention and finally personality traits. It discusses how the framework and the methodology could be integrated into design process, and illustrates the process by using hypothetical user types. The aim of this illustration is to clarify the predicted outcome of the methodology. As a result, four main user types are proposed: irresponsible users, undecided users, worried users and lastly enthusiastic users. Design intervention strategies are matched with these user types and the paper concludes with a brief discussion on the implications of the framework and methodology for design for pro-environmental behavior change.