S. Berkovsky and J. Freyne (Eds.): PERSUASIVE 2013, LNCS 7822, pp. 155–160, 2013. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013

Identifying Persuasive Qualities of Decentralized Peer-to-Peer Online Social Networks in Public Health

Sahiti Myneni1,*, Sriram Iyengar1,

Nathan K.Cobb2, and Trevor Cohen1

1 University of Texas School of Biomedical Informatics, Houston, TX, USA {Sahiti.Myneni,M.Sriram.Iyengar,Trevor.Cohen}@uth.tmc.edu

2 The Schroeder Institute for Tobacco Research and Policy Studies, American Legacy Foundation, Washington, DC, USA

{NCobb}@legacyforhealth.org

Abstract. Online social networks as behavior change support systems have been rapidly gaining in popularity. These networks have been studied by pub-lic health specialists from the point of view of traditional behavior change theories. However, scant research exists on the persuasive content of the mes-sages exchanged between participants in such networks. In this paper, we use Persuasive Systems Design (PSD) model to develop a framework for identify-ing persuasive attributes in online social networks. This framework was applied to QuitNet, an online social network for smoking cessation. Results indicated that the communication in QuitNet had persuasive qualities such as reduction, simulation, social learning, reminders, suggestions, and rewards. Further, these features were predominantly found in messages related to “QuitNet-specific customs”, “Quit progress”, and “Family and friends”. Use of this framework enables the development of quantitative relationships between persuasive attributes and behavior change outcomes experienced by network members.

1 Introduction

The adverse health consequences of risky behaviors such as smoking have been well documented [1]. Several interventions have been proposed to help individuals cease smoking. Online social networks have been seen as a viable solution to promote such behavior changes [2]. These networks enable decentralized peer-peer support, which is not the case of other web-based systems. Traditionally, online social network analysis has been conducted from network science standpoint [3] or social support perspective [4]. There are few studies that analyze the persuasive attributes of com-munication in online social networks that promote lifestyle changes such as smoking cessation. In this paper, we analyze QuitNet, an online social network for smoking cessation using a novel framework that takes into account both behavior change theo-ries prominent in the public health domain and persuasive systems design principles.

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2 Theoretical Rationale

Online social networks are virtual communication platforms that allow users to share experiences, ask questions, and provide emotional support, and advice to one another. These networks form the basis for decentralized peer-to-peer support. In other words, the triggers to elicit and/or sustain a behavior change can come from multiple nodes (peers). In contrast, web-based interventions that are fully automated and technology-driven are examples of centralized support where triggers can come from only one node (the system) [5]. There can be a third kind of support infrastructure which is a hybrid of decentralized and centralized structure as found in moderated social net-works, where the interactions can be peer-to-peer but there is a high-level hierarchy that guides the communication. Messages in decentralized networks do not necessari-ly arise from a single authority figure as is often the case with centralized systems. Thus the persuasive content arises in an organic form with many messages arising in reaction to others. Therefore, every message between decentralized network members can act as a vehicle for persuasion. In this paper, we propose a framework that enables our understanding of the persuasive qualities of a decentralized online social network. The framework involves two major steps- (a) derivation of empirically-grounded and theoretically-valid communication themes, and (b) mapping communication themes of the decentralized network to persuasive qualities.

The first step involves qualitative coding enabling us to capture the nature of com-munication in a decentralized network. The communication themes derived from qualitative coding are validated using existing theoretical models of behavior science and public health, thus making our analysis both empirically and theoretically-grounded. The Transtheoretical Model (TTM) [6] and Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) [7] are widely used in public health research and can be used to implement our framework. Then, the mapping process forms a bridge between theoretically-validated themes and persuasive qualities. While the first step is primarily driven by online social network content and theories of behavior change, the latter builds on persuasive system design principles. The Persuasive Systems Design (PSD) model provides a set of persuasive strategies in multiple categories [8]. In order to account for the nature of the network content, the proposed framework deals with three categories of the PSD model- primary task support, dialogue support, and social support. In this study, the framework is applied to identify the persuasive qualities embodied in communication within QuitNet, an online social network for smoking cessation.

3 Research Methods

QuitNet is one of the first online social networks for health behavior change promot-ing smoking cessation. Previous studies on QuitNet indicated that participation in the online community was strongly correlated with abstinence [9]. A database of 16,492 de-identified public messages between March 1, 2007 and April 30, 2007 was used in our study. All messages are stripped of identifiers but re-coded for sender id, receiver id, self-reported smoking status, and posting date.

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Of the 16,492 messages, 550 messages were randomly selected for qualitative analysis. Open coding, axial coding, and constant comparison techniques [10] were used to derive themes representing QuitNet content. Examples of QuitNet themes include- “Family & Friends”, “Quit obstacles”, and “QuitNet-specific customs”. The derived themes were validated using socio-behavioral constructs such as self-efficacy, observational learning, described in SCT and TTM. The theoretically-grounded themes were then mapped to the persuasive qualities listed under primary task sup-port, social support, and dialogue support categories in the PSD model. It is important to note that a single message can be coded as relating to multiple themes and the per-suasive qualities can overlap across themes. Table 1 shows the framework to map theoretically-grounded themes to persuasive qualities. A detailed narration of the mapping process for “Virtual rewards” theme is provided below.

The theme “Virtual rewards” consisted of messages in which members discuss vir-tual gifts such as bracelet to celebrate their achievements. While its connection to rewards strategy in PSD model is apparent, this theme has additional implicit persua-sive attributes such as 1) it can elicit observational learning in a member when he/she watches other members receive this reward, 2) getting virtual rewards brings recogni-tion to the network members, 3) peer recognition in turn provides a simulation cue to other members and help sustain their decision to quit, 4) it allows individuals to focus on small scale tasks, ultimately supporting them towards their target behavior, 5) the reward gets tailored and personalized based on the member’s timeline. Similarly, other themes were mapped to the persuasive qualities in the PSD model. The QuitNet themes and persuasive qualities were then re-analyzed using the framework to incor-porate self-reported smoking status information.

Table 1. A framework to identify persuasive qualities in a decentralized social network

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4 Results

A total of 12 theoretically-grounded themes were identified in QuitNet content. These 12 themes were mapped to the persuasive qualities in the PSD model using our framework. Social learning was the most commonly found persuasive quality in QuitNet messages. On the other hand, no evidence was found for liking and rehear-sal. Fig. 1(a) provides a detailed overview of the persuasive qualities in QuitNet con-tent. A detailed distribution of the persuasive qualities in each of the QuitNet themes can be found in Fig. 1(b). “QuitNet-specific customs” themed messages had the high-est number of persuasive qualities, followed by “Quit progress”, “Virtual rewards”, and “Family &Friends”. The findings from our work concurred with the existing knowledge in behavior science research on social networks and its facilitation of so-cial support and influence [11].

Fig. 1. Persuasive attributes and QuitNet themes

Based on self-reported smoking status, we classified QuitNet members into five groups (see Table 2). The percentage of messages sent and received by each QuitNet group across 12 QuitNet themes were calculated. Using our framework, we employed an additive model and estimated the number of persuasive qualities each group got exposed to during their QuitNet communication events as shown in Fig.2. Other mod-els can also be easily calculated in which a persuasive quality is counted only once across themes in which it overlaps.

Table 2. Distribution of QuitNet mambers based on their self-repprted smoking status

QuitNet groups % of messages sent % of messages received Smoker 20.37 25.13 Smoker to Ex-smoker 7.81 7.64 Ex-smoker to smoker 0.68 0.34 Ex-smoker 63.33 58.23 Other 7.81 8.66

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Fig. 2. Persuasive qualities and smoking status

The communication content in QuitNet possessed higher counts of persuasive qualities in the social support and primary task support categories than in the dialogue support across all messages exchanged with all QuitNet groups, except those sent from ex-smokers to smokers. The messages in the latter group had high number of persuasive qualities in the category of primary task support, followed by social support and dialogue support. Social learning, social role, personalization, and reminders were frequently found in the QuitNet messages sent and received by all five groups of QuitNet members. Given that the messages posted on decentralized networks such as QuitNet were in response to a specifc question, majority of the QuitNet communication themes were tailored and personalized, and hence these two persuasive qualities were also frequently found in QuitNet message content.

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5 Conclusions and Discussion

In this paper, we analyze the persuasive qualities of communication content in Quit-Net, a decentralized peer-to-peer online social network for smoking cessation. There are several benefits to the bottom-up analysis described in the paper- 1) it provides an approach to add the dimension of behavioral outcomes to the analysis of persuasive qualities, 2) it is flexible in terms of thematic granularity (theoretical constructs, per-suasive categories and qualities) and analytic dimensions (communication direction, behavioral outcomes). While the results presented in this paper are preliminary and still evolving, the analysis of QuitNet demonstrates the feasibility of deducing quan-titative relationships between persuasive qualities and behavior change outcomes. The proposed framework is our first step towards the analysis of persuasive qualities of the digital age communication platforms. Future studies can use this framework to assess the effectiveness of virtual support systems and translate the results into inter-vention development solutions.

Acknowledgement. This study is supported in part by UTHealth Innovation for Can-cer Prevention Research Pre-doctoral Fellowship, UT SPH- CPRIT grant #RP101503. Disclaimer: The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessar-ily represent the official views of the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas.

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