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@cugelman
Motivational Chemistry and
Susceptibility to Digital Persuasion
Brian Cugelman, PhD

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@cugelman
Triggering your dopamine
(Setting expectations on what you’ll gain)

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@cugelman
Behavioral
outcomes
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@cugelman
Intention-Outcome Matrix
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Intended
Unintended
Positive
Outcome
Negative
Outcome
Target behavior
Backfiring Unexpected benefits
Dark patterns
Stibe, A. & Cugelman, B. (2016, in press) Persuasive Backfiring: When Behavior Change Interventions Trigger
Unintended Negative Outcomes. PERSUASIVE 2016, LNCS 9638, Springer International Publishing Switzerland
2016. pp. 1–13, 2016. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-31510-2_6

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@cugelman
Evolutionary
psychology
and the
neurochemistry
of motivation
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@cugelman
Evolutionary psychology and motivation/emotion
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I must attain
this survival
advantage!
Kenrick, Douglas T., et al. "Renovating the pyramid of needs contemporary extensions built upon ancient
foundations." Perspectives on psychological science 5.3 (2010): 292-314.
I must avoid
this survival
threat!
Incentives +(+)
What we desire
Loss aversion -(-)
What we avoid

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@cugelman
I no longer see any
difference between
the words ‘emotion’
and ‘motivation’.
Emotion = Motivation
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@cugelman 8
How can we trigger emotions,
to nudge users in the right
direction?

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@cugelman
Dopamine
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@cugelman
Dopamine
• How to trigger: Perceiving
anything that promote survival
• Emotional impact: Pleasure,
curiosity, interest, anticipation,
excitement
• Behavioral impact: Creates
anticipation of reward, driving
us to pursue goals with
rewards
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@cugelman 11

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@cugelman
Triggering dopamine
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Triggeringdopamine
Hypothetical model based on a conversation between Brian and Loretta Graziano
Breuning, PhD
Too Familiar
(Habituated to
old rewards)
Novel
(triggers most)
Too Different
(Unrecognizable as
a potential reward)

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@cugelman
Digital crack for toddlers
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R91WnllMcNA

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@cugelman 14

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@cugelman
Marketing fatigue (habituation)
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Time
Impact
Oh wow! Another ad.

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@cugelman
Habituation: Why rewards lose
motivational impact over time
Habituation
• The brain habituates to old
rewards
• Something that triggered
dopamine (motivated) in the
past, no longer triggers
dopamine
• When habituation kicks-in, the
person still seeks rewards, but
your offer loses its ability to
trigger dopamine
Overcoming habituation
• Use novelty, new surprises
• Keep offering more, better,
bigger
• Always hold back the full story
• Slow down your outreach
frequency
• Place your old wine in a new
bottle
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How do you
overcome
habituation?

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@cugelman 17

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@cugelman
Cortisol
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@cugelman
Cortisol
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• How to trigger: Perceiving any
internal or external threat
• Emotional impact: Stress,
alertness (low levels), alert
(high-levels), anxiety (high-
levels)
• Behavioral impact: Grabs our
attention, and drives us to
remove the pain or threat

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@cugelman
Cortisol and the stress response
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@cugelman 21
Motivating cortisol/stress

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@cugelman 22

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@cugelman
Value props can be
visual
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If you do X, you will get Y.
In this image, does Y trigger cortisol
(threat avoidance) or dopamine
(anticipation of reward)?

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@cugelman 24
Demotivating cortisol/stress

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@cugelman
Unhealthy cortisol/stress
Frustrating
Preventing goal attainment
• Errors / 404 pages
• Breaking conventions
• Impossible goals
• Requesting too much, too fast
Complexity
• Information architecture disaster
• Confusing users with option overload
Ambiguity
• Inconsistent page-level UI logic
• Ambiguity on performing key tasks
• Unclear what buttons do
Threatening
Social threats
• Social banishment
• Lack of social endorsements
• Jealousy
Status threats
• Degrading text messages
• Public shaming / embarrassment
• Negative social comparison
Physical threats
• Unethical “lobster trap” design
• Red flags of scams, identity theft, fraud
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What are some awful ways to increase user stress?

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@cugelman
Reducing stress (reducing cortisol levels)
• Simplifying processes:wizards, checklists,checkouts
• Error free design is stress free design
• Reassuring the goal will be met
• Human contact(media equation contact)
• Reducing cognitive load
• Reduce ambiguity
• Humor and fun
• Entertainment
• Don’t trap users
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@cugelman

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@cugelman 28

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@cugelman 29

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@cugelman 30

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@cugelman 31

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@cugelman 32

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@cugelman 33
Is it really worth $47?
Or is this a marketing ploy?
Who backs
these claims?
Is this a professional
design, or a cheap
template?
Why are they trying so
hard to reassure me?
It looks secure.
I trust these credit
card companies.

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@cugelman
Oxytocin

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@cugelman
Oxytocin
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• How to trigger: Social bonds,
interaction with others, physical
touch
• Emotional impact: Feeling
trust, feeling connected,
jealous, territorial, possessive
• Behavioral impact: Acting on
trust, loyalty behavior

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@cugelman
Social approval / disapproval
Social approval Social disapproval
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@cugelman
Source representation
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A source is a person, place, or thing. They can be trusted and earn a reputation.
-bo

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@cugelman 38

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@cugelman 39

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@cugelman 40
Brian’s “method writing” editorial trick to trigger oxytocin

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@cugelman
Serotonin
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@cugelman
Serotonin
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• How to trigger: Realizing
superiority, obtaining recognition,
achieving status, climbing the social
ladder
• Emotional impact: Feeling
important, proud, special, confident,
safe, secure, empowered, envious
• Behavioral impact: Status seeking
behavior, risk-aversion, loyalty to
social structures (tradition)
BACKFIRE RISK
Social comparison may be
moderated by the serotonin system,
with low-status emotions tied to
anxiety, self worth, and depression.

43.
@cugelman
Social comparison
When people compare themselves to others, and make evaluations
of higher/lower ranking. Related to pecking orders, social status,
hierarchies, etc…
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@cugelman 44

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@cugelman 45

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@cugelman

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@cugelman
When your website flatters
47
Fogg, Brian J., and Clifford Nass. "Silicon sycophants:the effects of computers that
flatter." International Journal ofHuman-Computer Studies 46.5 (1997):551-561.

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@cugelman 48

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@cugelman
Flattery will get you everywhere
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@cugelman
Thanks so much
Brian Cugelman, PhD
Stay in touch.
www.alterspark.com
www.cugelman.com
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© Copyright 2016 | Brian Cugelman, PhD | AlterSpark Corp.