During the second week of my senior design project, I wanted to delve deeper into general research pertaining to psychology, technology, other projects out there in the world and so forth, as a foundational step towards better visualizing and planning for what Winspire will ultimately become. I found a large volume of research into different motivational techniques, with the six archetypes for motivation being: Rewards + Incentives, Fear of Consequences, Growth, Achievement, Social Connectivity and Power. I also found projects like TheFunTheory and this interactive anti-smoking cigarette bus stop ad, which are similar to what I’m trying to accomplish and have a creative application of the aforementioned techniques through media and technology.

                  As I continue researching, one of the biggest issues I’m weighing is how to scope the project with respect to my technical abilities. Though I have some coding experience, unless I decide on getting help early then I think Arduino’s or Raspberry Pi’s might be out of the question (especially considering I plan on making multiple pieces). I did look at chatbots as an option, and found that there are many tools available online to build Facebook messenger bots through flowchart designs and easy-to-edit interactions. In the latter case, I wouldn’t necessarily consider chatbots an ‘installation,’ and using it in my project would then require me to redefine how I’m going about catalyzing behavioral change.

                  Though I’m still articulating Winspire’s form factor, I know I want to address several different ways people self-sabotage and how we can design different tools or everyday objects that inspire people to make healthier decisions in their day to day lives. To that end, it seems that my bible for this project will be the book Designing for Behavior Change by Stephen Wendel, which I’ve included in my annotated bibliography.

                  Moving forward, I want to come to define the elements that still only exist in the abstract – which specific psychological issues will I be addressing? What technologies am I using? What physical locations do I want to install my pieces or else where will they live if they’re digital? I still have a lot of questions, but I figure that with more reading and web-suring to determine exactly why it is that we subconsciously diminish ourselves and what’s already been done already to address these negative behaviors, I’ll have me more insight into how I can design artifacts that help undo bad habits.