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A Closer Look at Persuasive Technology

Industry guide: resources and upcoming events.

OUTSIDE READING | CALENDAR

OUTSIDE READING

Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness, Revised and Expanded Edition
by Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein
Penguin Books, 2009

This book explains how our biases lead to bad decisions, and how institutions can present choices in a better way.

Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, Revised Edition
by Robert B. Cialdini
Harper Business, 2006

This bestseller outlines the six psychological principles underpinning marketing: reciprocity, likeability, authority, scarcity, consistency, and social proof.

Political Campaigns and Big Data
by David W. Nickerson and Todd Rogers
Journal of Economic Perspectives, 2014

This academic paper describes how political campaigns use data to target voters and model the likelihood that people will support candidates and issues.

The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business, Reprint Edition
by Charles Duhigg
Random House, 2014

New York Times reporter Duhigg describes the science of human habits and explains how we can change our behaviors by understanding what triggers them and why we keep repeating them.

Evil by Design: Interaction Design to Lead Us into Temptation
by Chris Nodder
Wiley, 2013

User-experience and design consultant Nodder cleverly shows how consumers can be persuaded by 57 design tactics based on the seven deadly sins: pride, sloth, gluttony, anger, envy, lust, and greed. The book pairs examples of these techniques in action with insights about social psychology.

Designing for Behavior Change: Applying Psychology and Behavioral Economics
by Stephen Wendel
O’Reilly Media, 2013

Wearable devices and apps promise to change our health, our bank accounts, and our in-boxes for the better, but only if we are self-disciplined enough to use them. This book applies behavioral psychology to the process of designing consumer products, drawing from author Wendel’s real-life experience developing the finance app HelloWallet.

Coding Conduct: Persuasive Design for Digital Media
by Sebastian Deterding

Deterding, an assistant professor of game design at Northeastern University, researches persuasive design and gamification, and his website includes videos and presentations on topics like applying game design to public policy and the common pitfalls of trying to make products more gamelike.

Hacking the Electorate: How Campaigns Perceive Voters
by Eitan Hersh
Cambridge University Press, 2015

Yale political scientist Hersh shows that campaigns rely much more on data in the public record than on information about voters’ consumer behavior, and details a large-scale study of Barack Obama’s campaign volunteers.

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CALENDAR

Social Media Marketing World
March 25–27, 2015
San Diego
www.socialmediaexaminer.com/smmworld/

The Marketing Nation Summit
April 13–15, 2015
San Francisco
summit.marketo.com/2015/

Ad Age Digital Conference
April 14-15, 2015
New York
adage.com/events/digital-conference/

Brand Strategy Conference
May 12–14, 2015
San Francisco
brandstrategyconference.com/

10th International Conference on Persuasive Technology (Persuasive 2015)
June 3–5, 2015
Chicago
trex.id.iit.edu/persuasive2015/Overview.html

#SMWF Europe
June 8-9, 2015
London
www.socialmedia-forum.com/

ad:tech asean 2015
July 7-8, 2015
Singapore
adtechasean.com/

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