Information Systems Promoting Habit Formation for Users: From Theories to Design Principles

Sustaining behaviour change is fundamental for the effective uptake of policies and practices aimed at improving individual and collective well-being; yet, it can be very difficult for individuals to adhere to new desired behaviours. A number of information systems (IS) are being proposed to help individual users instil target behaviours as habits so that they can be performed even when intentions shift. However, these systems tend to be designed in an ad hoc manner and, as a result, their effectiveness can vary substantially. To better guide the design of systems for sustained behaviour change, we integrate concepts from habit theory and IS continuance theory to present a design-relevant explanatory/predictive theory (DREPT) for IS promoting habit formation. Design principles are then rigorously derived from the DREPT. This research contributes to the prescriptive knowledge base on how to design for sustained behaviour change.

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