Delivering Green Persuasion Strategies with a Conversational Agent: a Pilot Study

TL;DR

This pilot study tested a chatbot called Ecobot, designed to promote sustainable energy behaviours using persuasive strategies. Two versions were compared: one using only feedback, and another combining feedback, goal-setting, and social comparison. While both versions were similarly effective in influencing behavior, users preferred the multi-strategy version, reporting stronger engagement and more natural interaction.

Abstract

Climate change is undeniable. The drastic consequences it may have on our lives make a collective effort crucial. Our research explores how Conversational Agents (CAs) can persuade people into environmentally sustainable behaviors, particularly in domestic spaces where these technologies are becoming increasingly popular. In this research work, we conducted an empirical evaluation (N=29) exploring the effectiveness and stance towards the adoption of different persuasive strategies compared to a CA delivering messages referring to just one persuasion strategy. Furthermore, this contribution reports on a custom dialogue manager’s implementation, designed to enable the execution of the experiment. Although study results suggested no significant difference in persuasion effectiveness and usability of the conversational agents, participants reported a significant difference in the perceptions of parasocial interactions and dialogue with the CA, preferring the one delivering multiple persuasive strategies.

@inproceedings{10.24251/HICSS.2024.099,
author={Giudici, Mathyas and Abbo, Giulio Antonio and Crovari, Pietro and Garzotto, Franca},
title={Delivering Green Persuasion Strategies with a Conversational Agent: a Pilot Study},
year={2024},
publisher={Hamilton Library},
isbn={9780998133171},
url={http://dx.doi.org/10.24251/HICSS.2024.099},
doi={10.24251/HICSS.2024.099},
abstract={Climate change is undeniable. The drastic consequences it may have on our lives make a collective effort crucial.
Our research explores how Conversational Agents (CAs) can persuade people into environmentally sustainable behaviors, particularly in domestic spaces where these technologies are becoming increasingly popular. In this research work, we conducted an empirical evaluation (N=29) exploring the effectiveness and stance towards the adoption of different persuasive strategies compared to a CA delivering messages referring to just one persuasion strategy. Furthermore, this contribution reports on a custom dialogue manager's implementation, designed to enable the execution of the experiment. Although study results suggested no significant difference in persuasion effectiveness and usability of the conversational agents, participants reported a significant difference in the perceptions of parasocial interactions and dialogue with the CA, preferring the one delivering multiple persuasive strategies.},
booktitle={Proceedings of the 57th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences},
pages={811--820}
}