JultikaUniversity of Oulu repository

Abstract

This literary survey aims to answer the question “how can we use information green information systems to persuade people to make pro-environmental decisions?” The fast economic growth of human societies has led to increased consumption of natural resources therefore deteriorating the ecological environment. With the rising number of concerns regarding the state of our climate and the environment new innovations are needed. The biggest challenges the environment faces are the consumption habits of the general population. There is real promise in interventions delivered using green information systems. Green information systems are technologies and systems that enable pro-environmental behaviour of people which drives the purpose of persuading behavioural change. Pro-environmental behaviour is any purposeful action that can reduce the negative impacts of that action to the environment. In an ideal situation a pro-environmental behaviour can even bring environmental benefits.

Persuasion is the act of changing an individual, or a groups attitudes and behaviour to a desired direction. Persuasion is based on the voluntary nature of the behavioural change, and on the planned, indented outcome. Information systems that are designed to change people’s attitudes and behaviour are known as persuasive systems. A Behaviour Change Support Systems are persuasive systems where the persuasion is the reason for its existence. Nowadays persuasion and persuasive systems are part of the everyday life where persuasion techniques are used by advertisers and marketers.

The persuasive systems design model offers three rings of consideration that aim to help the design, development, and evaluation of a persuasive system. There rings are the seven persuasive postulates, persuasive context, and persuasive features. Combining the strategies in persuasive systems design with gamification we can create an effective green information system.