Managing Multiple Influences: Self-Monitoring and Social Comparison at the Same Time and Context

Persuasive systems that combine numerous behavior change techniques such as self-monitoring and social comparison, expose users to multiple influences. These influences can in turn generate motivation and/or stress. In a previous study with users of three commercial applications from the area of sports, we found that users generated a series of strategies to manage these multiple influences in order to control their negative effects. Moreover, the management took place in different times and contexts, as the techniques were designed to be used separately: self-monitoring during exercising, and social comparison before or after the activity. This paper presents a study in progress where we explore how the management of multiple influences takes place under a new condition: when users are exposed at the same time and context to the multiple influences from self-monitoring and social comparison. We will design a prototype that delivers the influences from these two techniques under a single platform and evaluate it in a laboratory test.