Mind the Gap: A Framework (BehaveFIT) Guiding The Use of Immersive Technologies in Behavior Change Processes

TL;DR

This paper introduces BehaveFIT, a comprehensive framework that categorizes psychological barriers and immersive features, providing a theory-based approach to design and evaluate immersive technologies for effective behavior change.

Contribution

It presents a novel, structured framework that explains how and why immersive technologies support behavior change, bridging psychological theory and technological application.

Findings

BehaveFIT effectively categorizes barriers and features.

The framework predicts how immersive interventions facilitate behavior change.

Guides structured development and evaluation of immersive behavior change tools.

Abstract

The design and evaluation of assisting technologies to support behavior change processes have become an essential topic within the field of human-computer interaction research in general and the field of immersive intervention technologies in particular. The mechanisms and success of behavior change techniques and interventions are broadly investigated in the field of psychology. However, it is not always easy to adapt these psychological findings to the context of immersive technologies. The lack of theoretical foundation also leads to a lack of explanation as to why and how immersive interventions support behavior change processes. The Behavioral Framework for immersive Technologies (BehaveFIT) addresses this lack by (1) presenting an intelligible categorization and condensation of psychological barriers and immersive features, by (2) suggesting a mapping that shows why and how immersive technologies can help to overcome barriers, and finally by (3) proposing a generic prediction path that enables a structured, theory-based approach to the development and evaluation of immersive interventions. These three steps explain how BehaveFIT can be used, and include guiding questions and one example for each step. Thus, the present paper contributes to guidance for immersive intervention design and evaluation, showing that immersive interventions support behavior change processes and explain and predict 'why' and 'how' immersive interventions can bridge the intention-behavior-gap.