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Engagement for Social Impact: Clashing Motivations(don’t reward me for things I should want to do)
Meghan Searl (@behavior_etc)Wharton Gamification Symposium
Philadelphia, August 9, 2011
MY BACKGROUND:
Clinical Neuropsychologist: assess problems in cognition or behavior based in individuals with neurological, psychiatric, and/or general medical conditions.
Patients don’t always (ever?) do what is best for their health and well-being
I think mobile technologies can help solve this problem
Where are the usable, accessible products designed to improve health?
MY BACKGROUND
Clinical Neuropsychologist
Clinical Neuropsychologist
Connected Health
Startup Cofounder
MY BACKGROUND
Clinical Neuropsychologist
Clinical Neuropsychologist
Connected Health
Startup Cofounder
Startup Cofounder
www.dailyfeats.com@thedailyfeats
Check-in platform for positive actions (feats)
Startup Cofounder
www.dailyfeats.com@thedailyfeats
Hundreds of feats related to different aspects of well-being:
• Health• Eating• Balance (mental well-being)• Relationships• Family
• Community engagement• Financial stability• Learning• Productivity• Positive emotion
Startup Cofounder
www.dailyfeats.com@thedailyfeats
Check in what you’ve done:
Startup Cofounder
www.dailyfeats.com@thedailyfeats
Be inspired by others:
www.dailyfeats.com@thedailyfeats
Accept challenges: created by our partners
Startup Cofounder
www.dailyfeats.com@thedailyfeats
Boost your Life Score:
Startup Cofounder
www.dailyfeats.com@thedailyfeats
*Earn points:
*this is where it becomes complicated
www.dailyfeats.com@thedailyfeats
**Redeem points for rewards:
** more complicated
www.dailyfeats.com@thedailyfeats
Redeem points for rewards: Local Coupons
Startup Cofounder
www.dailyfeats.com@thedailyfeats
For some people, a disconnect exists around gamifying positive actions (and particularly around giving extrinsic rewards):
(don’t reward me for things I should want to do)
• Aversion to the idea:
• Morally offensive: “Um... doing good in order to get rewards... is not something I want to be involved in…I just disagree with the spirit of the concept. it promotes a shallow, materialistic, self-centered, egotistical, self-righteous worldview... very elitist and classist and turns things that should be rewarding in and of themselves into commodities. nothing about it seems appealing to me. I am morally opposed to it.”
(It is wrong to give extrinsic rewards for behaviors that should be intrinsically rewarding)
Intuitive response aligned with findings of Deci & Ryan on how extrinsic rewards can undermine existing intrinsic motivation
Startup Cofounder
www.dailyfeats.com@thedailyfeats
For some people, a disconnect exists around gamifying positive actions (and particularly around giving extrinsic rewards):
(don’t reward me for things I should want to do)
• Aversion to the idea:
• People shouldn’t need rewards to do these things: “Seems a bit ridiculous to waste time checking in and reporting what you are doing in your life, rather than just doing it. Things like eating veggies or tucking in kids...seems quite superficial to be earning rewards or points for these things.”
(You should be doing these things already)
(notice the “should” language; people “should” want to do these things already)
Startup Cofounder
www.dailyfeats.com@thedailyfeats
For some people, a disconnect exists around gamifying positive actions (and particularly around giving extrinsic rewards). But not for everyone….
• “I want to do good for myself, others, my kids. If I can earn rewards in the process, even better.”
• “You could do good things to make money…that’s definitely positive.”
• “I like to help other people, and do good things, and save money.”
(It’s okay to give extrinsic rewards for doing good)
Startup Cofounder
www.dailyfeats.com@thedailyfeats
For some people, a disconnect exists around gamifying positive actions (and particularly around giving extrinsic rewards). But not for everyone….
• “I want to do good for myself, others, my kids. If I can earn rewards in the process, even better.”
• “You could do good things to make money…that’s definitely positive.”
• “I like to help other people, and do good things, and save money.”
(It’s okay to give extrinsic rewards for doing good)
Startup Cofounder
www.dailyfeats.com@thedailyfeats
Does my motivational orientation impact how I feel about being rewarded?
• High extrinsic reward sensitivity
vs
• High existing intrinsic motivation
Are extrinsic rewards effective for one group and not another?
Startup Cofounder
www.dailyfeats.com@thedailyfeats
Does the type of task impact how I feel about being rewarded?
Donating Blood Exercising
vs.
Have we come to accept that exercise is drudgery (tedious task) for many people, so extrinsic rewards are acceptable?
Should we not reward donating blood because it is supposed to be a prosocially-oriented task?
Startup Cofounder
www.dailyfeats.com@thedailyfeats
Can we align the reward with the existing motivation?
Can you reduce cognitive dissonance by donating your points to good causes?
• Equally motivating? • How does ability to donate
compare with being given a tangible reward?
• Does it depend on how well aligned the “reward” is to the underlying motivation?
Startup Cofounder
www.dailyfeats.com@thedailyfeats
“You should be doing these things already”
• Is using extrinsic rewards (and applying principles of gamification in general) something that adults shouldn’t need?
Donating Blood Exercising
vs.
• Baumeister and others suggest that self-control is a limited resource.
• Perhaps being a mature adult involves recognizing this limitation and using tools (of which those with gamified aspects are only a subset) to cope with this limitation as appropriate.
Startup Cofounder
www.dailyfeats.com@thedailyfeats
Final thoughts
• Can we apply principles of gamification so that they are truly useful tools to for the right people, in the context of the right tasks, at the right times?
• Can elements of gamification be means of enablement as well as motivators?
• Can these roles be fluid? That is, can a gamified activity serve to promote initial engagement (reduce barriers) through boosting motivation and then transform into something that is more tool-oriented?
• Can we simultaneously offer arrays of different types of motivators and allow people to find the ones they respond to most? Is this sustainable?
