A Persuasive Television Remote Control

APersuasiveTelevisionRemoteControlforthePromotionofHealthandWell-BeingbyJasonPaulNawynA.B.,CornellUniversity(1997)SubmittedtothePrograminMediaArtsandSciences,SchoolofArchitectureandPlanning,inpartialfulfillmentoftherequirementsforthedegreeofMasterofScienceattheMASSACHUSETTSINSTITUTEOFTECHNOLOGYSeptember2005©MassachusettsInstituteofTechnology2005.Allrightsreserved.Author____________________________________________________________PrograminMediaArtsandSciencesSeptember26,2005Certifiedby________________________________________________________KentLarsonPrincipalResearchScientistMITDepartmentofArchitectureThesisSupervisorAcceptedby________________________________________________________AndrewB.LippmanChair,DepartmentalCommitteeonGraduateStudentsPrograminMediaArtsandSciences2APersuasiveTelevisionRemoteControlforthePromotionofHealthandWell-BeingbyJasonPaulNawynSubmittedtothePrograminMediaArtsandSciences,SchoolofArchitectureandPlanning,onSeptember26,2005,inpartialfulfillmentoftherequirementsofthedegreeofMasterofScienceAbstractNewformsofmediatechnologythatenterthehomeoftenfundamentallytransformthewaythatpeoplespendtheirtime.Inthepresentday,daily“screentime”withtelevisionsandotherentertainmentsystemscontinuestorise[1].Withinthisclimateofescalatingmediaconsumption,expertsinthemedicalcommunityhaverepeatedlyvoicedconcernsaboutthepublichealthcrisisthatloomsoveralargelysedentaryU.S.population.Principalamongtheseconcernsisthecontinuingupwardtrendinlifestyle-relateddisorderssuchasobesityandType2diabetes.Withinthelasttwodecades,substantialepidemiologicalresearchhaslinkedexcessivetelevisionviewingwithbothobesity[2]andType2diabetes[3,4].Thisworkdescribesthedesign,implementation,andevaluationofaubiquitouscomputingsystemintendedtosimultaneouslydecreaseauser’stelevisionviewingwhileincreasinghisorherfrequencyandquantityofnon-sedentaryactivities.Thissystem,calledViTo,employsaresidentialsensinginfrastructuretorecognizeanindividual’stelevisionviewinganduseswearableaccelerometerstodetectphysicalmovement.Theprimaryuserinterfaceconsistsofahandheldcomputingdevicethatservesasawirelessremotecontrolforatelevisionandhometheatresystem,aswellasaninterfaceforplanningandreviewingdailyactivity.Thisdevicetracksdailyactivitypatternsandusestheoriesofbehaviormodificationtonon-intrusivelypersuadeuserstodecreasetheirdailytelevisionusewhileincreasingphysicalactivity.Resultsfroma14-daycasestudyevaluationrevealedexamplesofhowpersuasiveinterfacedesignelementsmightinfluenceuserbehaviorwithoutinducingaburdenofannoyance.ThesisSupervisor:KentLarsonTitle:PrincipalResearchScientist,MITDepartmentofArchitecture34APersuasiveTelevisionRemoteControlforthePromotionofHealthandWell-BeingbyJasonPaulNawynThefollowingindividualsservedasreadersforthisthesis:Advisor___________________________________________________________KentLarsonPrincipalResearchScientistMITDepartmentofArchitectureReader____________________________________________________________Dr.StephenS.IntilleResearchScientistMITDepartmentofArchitectureReader____________________________________________________________Dr.AlexP.PentlandToshibaProfessorofMediaArtsandSciencesMITMediaLaboratory5AcknowledgmentsThankyou.6TableofContentsAbstract..................................................................................................................................................2Acknowledgments................................................................................................................................51.Introduction..................................................................................................................................122.Background...................................................................................................................................162.1Ubiquitouscomputing..........................................................................................................172.2Contextawarecomputing....................................................................................................172.3Persuasivecomputing...........................................................................................................173.RelatedWork................................................................................................................................193.1Knowledgecampaigns..........................................................................................................193.2Clinicalexerciseinterventions.............................................................................................203.3Non-ExerciseActivityThermogenesis..............................................................................203.4Technologiestoreducetelevisionviewing........................................................................213.5Technologiestoincreasephysicalactivity.........................................................................224.DesignChallenges...................................................................................