Abstract
The combination of inexpensive wearable sensors, powerful mobile phones, and always-connected cloud computing are enabling new, real-time feedback and coaching via mobile technologies. This paper explores the use of avatars - digital representations of the self - as an ideal user interface for mobile health application. Specifically, a justification for using avatars is provided, both based on empirical studies and the psychology of human body interpretation. We then provide an organized, theoretical description of how an avatar’s traits (appearance, behavior, and virtual environment) can be manipulated to convey specific health-related behavior change messages.
Chapter PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Keywords
References
Ahn, S.: Embodied Experiences in Immersive Virtual Environments: Effects on Pro-Environmental Attitude and Behavior. Stanford University (2011)
Bailenson, J.N., et al.: Transformed Social Interaction, Augmented Gaze, and Social Influence in Immersive Virtual Environments. Human Communication Research 31(4), 511–537 (2005)
Bandura, A.: Social learning theory. Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs (1977)
Behm-Morawitz, E.: Mirrored selves: The influence of self-presence in a virtual world on health, appearance, and well-being. Computers in Human Behavior (2012)
Belman, J., et al.: Designing Games to Foster Empathy. International Journal of Cognitive Technology 14(2), 11 (2009)
Consolvo, S., et al.: Flowers or a robot army?: encouraging awareness & activity with personal, mobile displays. In: Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Ubiquitous Computing. ACM (2008)
Cunningham, M.R.: Measuring the physical in physical attractiveness: Quasi-experiments on the sociobiology of female facial beauty. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 50(5), 925–935 (1986)
Fogg, B.J.: A behavior model for persuasive design. In: Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Persuasive Technology. ACM (2009)
Fogg, B., et al.: Behavior wizard: A method for matching target behaviors with solutions. Persuasive Technology, 117–131 (2010)
Fox, J., et al.: Virtual Self-Modeling: The Effects of Vicarious Reinforcement and Identification on Exercise Behaviors. Media Psychology 12(1), 1–25 (2009)
Fujiki, Y., et al.: Neat-O-Games: Blending Physical Activity and Fun in the Daily Routine. Computers in Entertainment (CIE) 6(2), 21 (2008)
Hekler, E.B., et al.: A case study of BSUED: Behavior science-informed user experience design. In: Personal Informatics & HCI: Design, Theory & Social Implications, at the ACM SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, Vancouver, BC, Canada (2011), http://personalinformatics.org/chi2011/hekler
Hekler, E.B., et al.: Exploring Behavioral Markers of Long-term Physical Activity Maintenance: A Case Study of System Identification Modeling within a Behavioral Intervention. In: Submitted for future publication in Health Education and Research (2012)
Hekler, E.B., et al.: Mind the Theoretical Gap: Interpreting, Using and Developing Behavioral Theory in HCI Research. In: ACM-CHI Conference, Paris, France (May 2013)
Hershfield, H.E., et al.: Increasing Saving Behavior through Age-Progressed Renderings of the Future Self. Journal of Marketing Research 48(SPL), 23–37 (2011)
Kelleher, C., et al.: Ten guidelines for effective data visualization in scientific publications. Environmental Modelling & Software 26(6), 822–827 (2011)
King, A.C., et al.: Mobile phone applications to promote physical activity increases: Preliminary results of the MILES pilot study. In: Annual Conference for the Society of Behavioral Medicine, New Orleans, LA, USA (2012)
Lin, J., et al.: Fish‘n’steps: Encouraging Physical Activity with an Interactive Computer Game. In: International Conference on Ubiquitous Computing (UbiComp), pp. 261–278. ACM (2006)
Mehrabian, A.: Silent messages: Implicit communication of emotions and attitudes. Wadsworth, Belmont (1981)
Newton, K.H., et al.: Pedometers and text messaging to increase physical activity: randomized controlled trial of adolescents with type 1 diabetes. Diabetes care. 32(5), 813–815 (2009)
Picard, R.W.: Affective computing (1995)
Pollak, J., et al.: It’s time to eat! Using mobile games to promote healthy eating. IEEE Pervasive Computing 9(3), 21–27 (2010)
Revett, K.: Behavioral biometrics: a remote access approach. Wiley Publishing (2008)
Shapiro, J.R., et al.: Use of text messaging for monitoring sugar-sweetened beverages, physical activity, and screen time in children: a pilot study. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior 40(6), 385–391 (2008)
Turk, M., et al.: Multimodal Transformed Social Interaction. In: International Conference on Multimodal Interfaces, pp. 46–52. ACM (2004)
Yee, N., et al.: Walk a Mile in Digital Shoes: The Impact of Embodied Perspective-Taking on the Reduction of Negative Stereotyping in Immersive Virtual Environments. In: Proceedings of PRESENCE, pp. 24–26 (2006)
Yee, N., et al.: The Proteus Effect: Implications of Transformed Digital Self-Representation on Online and Offline Behavior. Communication Research 36(2), 285–312 (2009)
Ibitz kids avatar application, http://ibitz.com/kidsapp/ (last accessed January 13, 2013)
Striiv Smart Pedometer, http://www.striiv.com (last accessed November 9, 2012)
Wii Fit avatar, http://wiifit.com/ (last accessed Febuary 15, 2013)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this paper
Cite this paper
Murray, T., Hardy, D., Spruijt-Metz, D., Hekler, E., Raij, A. (2013). Avatar Interfaces for Biobehavioral Feedback. In: Marcus, A. (eds) Design, User Experience, and Usability. Health, Learning, Playing, Cultural, and Cross-Cultural User Experience. DUXU 2013. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 8013. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-39241-2_47
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-39241-2_47
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-39240-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-39241-2
eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)