When using persuasive techniques, it is vital to ensure the focus is on design for compelling user experiences that make user journeys frictionless and easier to use (Craig, 2020). When deployed, it is essential to ask whether persuasive technology used in the design is ethically justifiable to influence human behaviour (Fogg, 1998, pp.225-232; Berdichevsky & Neuenschwander, 1999, pp. 51-58; Fogg, 2002, chapter 7).

In short, designers and researchers must justify using cognition, biases, and behavioural science to influence human behaviour. Product teams should design persuasive strategies to “ease decision-making anxiety and improve overall user experience” (Craig, 2020). This equitable approach is not, as Manandhar (2018) argues, “about creating coercion. It’s not about forcing people to change. Instead, it [empowers designers and researchers to] increase the chance that someone changes their behaviour without […] violating their autonomy or dignity.”

Berdichevsky and Neuenschwander (1999, pp. 51–58) began research on this topic to provide a code of ethics in their publication ‘Toward an Ethics of Persuasive Technology’ for the ‘Communications of the ACM.’ Herein, they offer a guiding principle that “The creators of a persuasive technology should never seek to persuade anyone of something they themselves would not want to be persuaded.” Since this publication, several frameworks have provided toolkits to create persuasive user journeys. Amongst these are Human Factors International PET Design™ and Behavioural Design (Schaffer & Lahiri, 2013; Fogg, 2002, 2009, 2021).

These frameworks, although conceptual, provide us with guiding principles that we can then use for practical applications to persuade people into making easy decisions that are free from friction, designed in their best interest, and expect a compelling user experience outcome. Before demonstrating what practical applications might be, here is a brief outline of the persuasive and behavioural frameworks grounded in empirical research.

Ethical conduct in persuasive and behavioural design

Identify opportunities with KPIs. Measure objectives with OKRs