Institute For The Future

Self-reflection as a form of persuasion

From the MIT Media Lab, a project called: "ReflectOns: Mental Prostheses for Self-Reflection."

ReflectOns are objects that help people think about their actions and change their behavior based on subtle, ambient nudges delivered at the moment of action. Certain tasks—such as figuring out the number of calories consumed, or amount of money spent eating out—are generally difficult for the human mind to grapple with. By using in-place sensing combined with gentle feedback and understanding of users' goals, we can recognize behaviors and trends, and provide a reflection of their own actions tailored to enable both better understanding of the repercussions of those actions, and changes to their behaviors to help them better match their own goals.