Meanings
- uncountableThe study of computers as persuasive technologies.
In the last decade, persuasion has been investigated in two apparently distinct lines of research: captology, and teaching as persuasion.
2006, Wijnand IJsselsteijn, Yvonne de Kort, Cees Midden, Berry Eggen, Elise van den Hoven, Persuasive Technology: First International Conference on Persuasive Technology for Human Well-Being, PERSUASIVE 2006, Eindhoven, The Netherlands, May 18-19, 2006, Proceedings, Springer Science & Business Media, →ISBN, page 1451 more example
The relatively new field of computers as persuasive technology (captology) has begun to explore the powerful effects of presentation of information on computers.
2015, Rand J. Spiro, Michael DeSchryver, Michelle Schira Hagerman, Paul M. Morsink, Penny Thompson, Reading at a Crossroads?: Disjunctures and Continuities in Current Conceptions and Practices, Routledge, →ISBN, page 142
Origin
Coined by American behavior scientist B. J. Fogg in 1996, from the initials of computers as persuasive technologies + -ology.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
captology. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/captology
“captology.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/captology. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “captology,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/captology.
Source: captology on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.