Persuasive Design Principles of Car Apps

Abstract

This study attempts to identify the persuasive design principles of car-related smartphone apps that assist users in driving or managing their vehicles. We developed a guideline by experts for evaluating persuasive design principles of car apps and recruited four evaluators who were trained to apply the guideline and given 35 car apps for evaluation. The value of Fleiss’ Kappa was 0.782, over the excellent criterion of 0.75, which means the inter-rater reliability of persuasive design guideline was reliable. We collected 697 car apps from Apple iTunes Store and Google Play and examined which design principles were implemented by these car apps. The result shows that nine persuasive design principles are found, such as reduction, trustworthiness, real-world feel, self-monitoring, personalization, reminder, suggestion, expertise, and verifiability. The results from this study would suggest some implications for car app developers and automakers to develop better car apps in the future.

This research was supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education (NRF-2014R1A1A2059510).

Appendices

Appendix 1

A brief description of Evaluation Guideline for Persuasive Design Principles

Guideline	Implementation	Case: Modu parking
Self-monitoring	Mobile app can eliminate the tedium of tracking performance or status and help users track their behavior, status, task schedule, or performance	Tracks the parking place and routines
Reduction	Mobile app can increase user’s perceived motivation and be more persuasive by making a behavior easier to perform or reducing complex behavior to simple tasks or a few simple steps	Reduces the complexity of finding parking place and makes it easier to find out the parking price
Personalization	Mobile app can offer personalized or tailored content and services so that users can perceive more credible and trustworthy	Inputs phone number, car number, credit card number, email; Uses environment setting, reminding setting
Virtual rehearsal	Mobile app can offer a simulated environment in which users can practice a target behavior or rehearse an actual behavior to change their attitudes or behavior in real world	N/A
Tunneling	Mobile app can set up a “tunnel” to provide a process or a step-by-step systematic approach for users to proceed a behavior along the way. It can weaken user’s self-determination level and provide opportunities for persuasion	A searching results filter is designed step by step. Users should select every condition to screen parking lot results along a way; Introduces a new parking lot and users should follow a process to input the information
Simulation	Mobile app can offer simulated cause-and-effect scenarios, to allow users to observe the causality of their behavior and persuade them to change their behaviors or attitudes	N/A
Tailoring	Mobile app can offer tailored information to match individual’s needs, personality, interests, or usage context and it can be more persuasive to help users find appropriate information	A searching results filter can be selected by user’s preference
Reminder	Mobile app can provides automatized, event-triggered, or customizable reminders via e-mail, SMS, screen prompt, and other methods to remind users of their target behavior and help them achieve their goals	Notices for events or drive information; Uses push messages to remind users about latest news and latest update
Praise	Mobile app can provides positive feedback based on user’s behavior by using praise via words, images, symbols, cartoons, animations, or sounds	Not found
Suggestion	Mobile app offers suggestions, coaching message, help tips, using guide, or recommended options during the using process	Uses guide, question emails, or Kakao talk to help users
Rewards	Mobile app provides virtual rewards to increase the frequency and activeness of user’s target behavior performing via sounds, game items, bonus points, or other virtual prize	Coupon can be downloaded; Bonus points can be used as money
Similarity	Mobile app imitates users in personality, preferences, language habits, interests, or affiliation	Not found
Social role	Mobile app offers an avatar playing the role of a specialist	Not found
Liking	Not evaluated
Trustworthiness	Mobile app provides truthful, fair, and unbiased information and complies with laws, design regulations, privacy policies, or social expectations	Declares privacy policies and user agreements, users can resign membership freely
Real-world feel	Mobile app provides a direct experience of daily routines and making the impact on everyday life clearly via decrease imagination or suspension of disbelief	Uses virtual map of Korea and timeliness parking information
Expertise	Mobile app provides expert knowledge, specialized experience, or professional competence and offers timeliness, efficient, and frequently updated sources	Uses push message to remind users about latest news and latest update. Provides professional information about parking lots and charging standards
Verifiability	Mobile app can be more persuasive and its credibility perceptions can be enhanced by providing means to verify the accuracy of its content via Tel, email, website or other outside sources	Uses email, telephone, Kakao Talk to confirm the content
Authority	Mobile app leverages roles of authority or some official, authoritative, and reputable information	Not found
Third party endorsements	Mobile app shows certified, well-known, or respected sources as its endorsements via Certification logos, high usability, or other industry standards	Not found
Surface credibility	Not evaluated
Social comparison sharing	Mobile app provides comparison information of other users to determine personal attitudes, behaviors, or a possible way forward	Not found
Cooperation (intrinsic motivation)	Mobile app provides a cooperation platform and leverages human nature to cooperate via group working, pressing need, or win-win cognition	N/A
Normative influence	Mobile app leverages conformity or belongingness to match personal attitudes, behaviors, and expectations with groups via adopting or avoiding a behavior, or gathering users with common goal	N/A
Social facilitation	Mobile app uses connected technology to provide a virtual social group in which users can realize and observe other user’s participating, virtual presence, or even aware of being observed by other users	N/A
Competition	Mobile app provides a competition platform and leverages human nature to compete via racing game, outcome comparison, and prize or non-prize activities	N/A
Recognition	Mobile app leverages the motivating power of recognition via awards, reputation logos, donate stickers, citations, ranking list, or other incentive programs	Not found
Social learning	Mobile app offers an observing platform especially a rewarded observing platform to learn new attitudes and behaviors from others	N/A

Appendix 2

An example of evaluation results about car app’s persuasive design principles