Fighting Stress With AI, Positive Psychology, and Persuasive Technology

Abstract

Over the past years, researchers in the field of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) have dedicated their efforts to designing interactive systems that are both useful and usable across various domains. The health domain, in particular, has witnessed significant attention, leading to extensive research in Mobile Health (mHealth) and the development of diverse mHealth applications targeting various needs, such as stress management and the promotion of positive health habits, including smoking cessation. Stress, being a universal problem, has prompted the development of various approaches aimed at managing and mitigating its effects. In this thesis, we designed, developed, and evaluated a mHealth mobile application called SmileApp to promote positive mood as a means of addressing stress. The application leverages artificial intelligence (AI) and persuasive technology, incorporating underlying psychological theories and models such as the Flow theory, PERMA Model, and PSD Model. To evaluate the SmileApp, a two-week within-subject study involving 101 participants who utilized the app during the study period was conducted in a natural environment. Participants' emotional states and feelings of social connectedness were measured before and after the intervention. We determined this population based on other studies that promote positive behaviour change. Previous studies recruited 136 [1], 31 [2], and 84 [3]. This supports that a population size of 100 participants will be enough to achieve a reasonable result in our study. The findings of this study reveal the effectiveness of SmileApp in positively impacting users' emotional well-being by fostering positive moods. These results offer valuable insights into innovative approaches for designing mHealth applications that promote a positive mood. Moreover, the findings underscore the importance of utilizing technology to support individuals on their emotional well-being journey and lay the groundwork for further research and development in this area. The implications of this study mark a paradigm shift in mHealth app design by introducing a new approach of users reading supportive messages with Smile and playing mobile games with their smile instead of conventional keypads.