Designing for behaviour change

1. Designing for behaviour change Phil Barrett Director Flow Interactive South Africa A few techniques

2. Flickr:HeatherHopkins/ClevergrrlFlickr:Mel/Karamellzucker Flickr:DarrenTunnicliff/ĐāżŦ{mostlyabsent} Flickrr:Etolane Remove the negative posts:   people post more positive stuff. Facebook manipulated 689,003 users’ emotions for science Flickr:quantumbunny Remove the positive posts:   people post more negative stuff.

3. “I am worried about the ability of Facebook and others to manipulate people’s thoughts […] If people are being thought-controlled in this kind of way, there needs to be protection and they at least need to know about it. Jim Sheridan, MP  Member of Commons Media Select committee

4. Facebook’s real motives Facebook wants you to use Facebook more. Facebook always builds a user’s feed by compiling “the content they will ﬁnd most relevant and engaging.” Facebook has built a behaviour in users: Smartphone users check Facebook 14 times a day. …keeping us on Facebook!

5. Computers can change people’s behaviour

6. …So can TV, Radio, Books, Speeches, Posters, Games, Smells, Conversations, Balloons…

7. Behaviour-change is the   measurable outcome of UX work

8. “Behaviour is our medium. Robert Fabricant  Frog Design

9. Sustained behaviour change. Creating an itch that people want to keep on scratching HayDay:Agreatgameonfacebook.Playitnow!

10. And what about in the real world? Exercise more, eat better, save for retirement, recycle, use less electricity, volunteer to help a charity, spend more time with the kids… Flickr:ElAlvi/alvi2047

11. Mindbloom Fitbit Do these kinds of things work? A show of hands…

12. What kinds of behaviour change can we hope to achieve? What techniques can we use? Flickr:JackKeane/whatknot

13. These are helping Sebastian Deterding  CodingConduct.cc

14. Get people to take an action Exploit mental quirks to persuade Build habits Design a compelling behavioural plan Cheat Flickr:JackKeane/whatknot

15. CONCEPT 1 Getting people to take action is hard

16. “ BJ Fogg,   Professor of Persuasive Tech Stanford University Three elements must converge at the same moment for a behavior to occur: Motivation, Ability, and Trigger. Easy to doHard to do Low   motivation High   motivation No action: Triggers fail here Ability Motivation Action! Triggers succeed here

17. Easy to doHard to do Low   motivation High   motivation No action: Triggers fail here Action! Triggers succeed here Ability Motivation More compelling Less eﬀort

18. Fogg’s motivation factors Attain Avoid Pleasure Pain Hope Fear Social acceptance Social rejection

19. Even harder: Behaviour change funnel Execute action CUE REACTION EVALUATION ABILITY TIMING Distractions Distractions Distractions Distractions Distractions Doesn’t notice Negative reaction Cost > beneﬁt Can’t act No urgency CREATE action funnel

20. CONCEPT 2 You can exploit mental quirks to get a more positive reaction

21. “System 1” “System 2” Automatic vs deliberate thinking • Does the job properly but uses a lot of glucose.• Substitutes easy questions for hard ones • Believes things that are easy to believe • Operates using habits

22. System 2 System 1 Flickr:Thomas/Inﬁdelic

23. Exploiting system 1: some examples § Free stuff. People make irrational decisions when things are free. § Loss aversion: People are more motivated by avoiding a loss than by acquiring a similar gain. If the same choice is framed as a loss, rather than a gain, people will behave differently. § Ikea effect: We value things we have made more highly. § Social proof: Everyone else is doing it, so it must be a good thing.

24. People behave strangely when things are free

25. Framing a choice as a loss makes it less popular Imagine that the US is preparing for the outbreak of a lethal ﬂu, which is expected to kill 600 people. Choose a program to address the problem. ! a) 200 people will be saved ! b) 1/3rd chance that 600 people will be saved. 2/3rd chance that no people will be saved. 72%

26. Framing a choice as a loss makes it less popular Imagine that the US is preparing for the outbreak of a lethal ﬂu, which is expected to kill 600 people. Choose a program to address the problem. ! a) 400 people will die. ! b) 1/3rd that no-one will die. 2/3rd chance that 600 people will die. 22%

27. The IKEA eﬀect. With origami frogs. They were hard to make and most people did a bad job. How much would people bid for their own frogs? And the frogs of others? And expert -made frogs? Flickr:ToddJordan/Tojosan

28. We become attached to the things we make. • Average bid for expert-made frog: 27¢ • Average bid for own frog: 23¢ • Average bid by someone else for that same frog: ¢5c Flickr:Nanimo

29. What’s this one? And this one?

30. CONCEPT 3 For sustained behaviour change you need to create habits

31. Habits let system 2 offload much of the day’s effort onto system 1. Create a habit, and the action can be performed many times without conscious thought from the rider. Flickr:Thomas/Infidelic

32. Habit loop Icons made by Icons8 from ﬂaticon.com Cue Routine Reward triggers provides becomes associated with…

33. Habit loop: key details Cue must be clear, unambiguous, single-purpose. User must be motivated and able to do the routine. User must know about the reward, want it and get it immediately after the routine.

34. Rewards

35. “Promising a reward for an activity is tantamount to declaring that the activity is not worth doing for its own sake. Remove the reward and the behaviour stops

36. But in the commercial world, rewards don’t have to stop.

37. Variable reward Variability causes increased levels of dopamine, the neurotransmitter that drives us to search for rewards.

38. Types of reward TribeHunt Self

39. Old habits never die.   But sometimes you can get past them. • Avoid the cue • Replace the routine • Get people to think about the habit • Mindfulness • Crowd out the old habit with new behaviour

40. CONCEPT 4 Design a behaviour plan that helps people build ability and stay motivated

41. Behavioural plan* Get shoes Decide route Set date 1st run! Expensive Not sure of right distance Feels unfamiliar Can’t commit Might forget or chicken out *AKA Customer journey

42. Behavioural plan* Get shoes Decide route Set date 1st run! Expensive Not sure of right distance Feels unfamiliar Can’t commit Might forget or chicken out *AKA Customer journey Suggest distance Suggest route Social proof Social proof Behavioural bridge Reminder Commitment contract Target/goal Social proof Behavioural bridge

43. Learn from game design!

44. We don’t need no stinkin’ badges Adding points and badges does not make a bad game fun.

45. 7 principles of good games • Clear, worthwhile goal • Clear, bite-sized actions and choices • Clear action-goal relations • Clear status • Lots of positive feedback • Scaﬀolded challenges • Social comparison

46. Ingredients for a state of Flow • Clear goal: You know what you’re trying to achieve • Rapid Feedback: Visibility of distance to go and of motion towards the goal • Challenge/mastery: You have to play better over time if you want to win Skills Challenge Anxiety Boredom Flow

47. A state of “Flow” • Optimal performance • Intense focus and concentration • Time ﬂies by • Feels good Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi Author of Flow

48. Epic meaning: Real or imaginary

51. Lots of positive feedback Peggle

52. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Scaﬀolded challenges Small challenges building to bigger ones. Social, hunt and intrinsic rewards.

53. Like in Plants vs Zombies

54. Make the behaviour more challenging,   not the interface Sebastian Deterding, Just add points?

55. CONCEPT 5 Cheat

56. Choice architecture In some situations you can make a lasting impact by choosing a positive default and allowing people to opt out.

57. “Employees did not have to spend time choosing a savings rate and an asset allocation; they could just tick a yes box for participation. As a result, participation rates jumped from 9 percent to 34 percent. People really do want to join the plan, and if you dig a channel for them to slide down that removes the seemingly tiny barriers that are getting in their way, the results can be quite dramatic.” Cheat for pension sign-up

58. Cheat for organ donation Austria Germany 99% registered donors 12% registered donors Opt in on driving licence application Opt out on driving licence application

59. Libertarian paternalism In unfamiliar and complex situations where people often make the wrong choice, it’s best to make a choice for them but important to allow them the freedom to do what they want.

60. To create sustained behaviour change ! • Be realistic: it’s hard! • Exploit mental quirks to persuade • Build habits • Design a compelling   behavioural plan • Cheat

61. Thanks! Phil Barrett @philbuktoo @Flow_SA www.userexperience.co.za