Presentation from User Experience Professional Association (UXPA) Boston 2014 conference on self-determination theory, motivational design, and applying these concepts to your digital product to motivate and engage users.

1. Design Psychology: Motivate
Your Users
Amy Bucher, Ph.D.
amy.bucher@gmail.com
@ab_phd
Amy Bucher, Ph.D. (amy.bucher@gmail.com)

2. Agenda
• Self-determination theory: Overview
• Competence: Helping people grow
• Autonomy: Helping people choose
• Relatedness: Helping people connect
• Tying it all together
Amy Bucher, Ph.D. (amy.bucher@gmail.com)

3. Self-Determination Theory
Overview
Amy Bucher, Ph.D. (amy.bucher@gmail.com)

4. Amy Bucher, Ph.D. (amy.bucher@gmail.com)
“It’s not that I’m lazy, it’s that I just don’t care.”

5. Amy Bucher, Ph.D. (amy.bucher@gmail.com)
Self­Efficacy
Social Learning
Hierarchy of Needs

6. Amy Bucher, Ph.D. (amy.bucher@gmail.com)
Types of Motivation: Self Determination
Theory
AutonomousControlled
More likely to sustain
behavior change
Adapted from Segar & Hall (2011) Source: Ryan & Deci (2000)

7. Amy Bucher, Ph.D. (amy.bucher@gmail.com)

8. Amy Bucher, Ph.D. (amy.bucher@gmail.com)
Self-Determination Theory (SDT):
Antecedents of Motivation
Motivation

9. Amy Bucher, Ph.D. (amy.bucher@gmail.com)
Applying Self-Determination Theory
Adapted from Scott Rigby

10. Perceived Autonomy
Help people feel they have control
Amy Bucher, Ph.D. (amy.bucher@gmail.com)

11. Amy Bucher, Ph.D. (amy.bucher@gmail.com)

12. Amy Bucher, Ph.D. (amy.bucher@gmail.com)

13. Amy Bucher, Ph.D. (amy.bucher@gmail.com)

14. Amy Bucher, Ph.D. (amy.bucher@gmail.com)

15. Pandora.comAmy Bucher, Ph.D. (amy.bucher@gmail.com)

16. WeightWatchers.comAmy Bucher, Ph.D. (amy.bucher@gmail.com)
Weight Watchers
food choice tools

17. Amy Bucher, Ph.D. (amy.bucher@gmail.com)

18. Amy Bucher, Ph.D. (amy.bucher@gmail.com)

19. Constrained Choice

20. Perceived Competence
Help people feel they can do it
Amy Bucher, Ph.D. (amy.bucher@gmail.com)

21. Ability
Amy Bucher, Ph.D. (amy.bucher@gmail.com)

22. Amy Bucher, Ph.D. (amy.bucher@gmail.com)
2xweight loss in people who track food
6+ days per week vs. people who track
less than 11
1. Hollis, J. F. et al. (2008). Weight loss during the intensive intervention phase of the weight-loss maintenance trial. American Journal of
Preventative Medicine, 32(5), 118-126.
2. Kruger, J., Blanck, H. M., & Gillespie, C. (2006). Dietary and physical activity behaviors among adults successful at weight loss maintenance.
International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 3.
3. Bravata, D. M., et al. (2007). Using pedometers to increase physical activity and improve health: A systematic review. Journal of the
American Medical Association, 298(19), 2296-2304.
18%of successful dieters kept a calorie
diary, vs. 8% of unsuccessful dieters2
People using pedometers keep their
physical activity at 27%above baseline
levels3

23. Opower.com
1.4 – 3.3% energy use reduction per household (Alcott, 2011)
Amy Bucher, Ph.D. (amy.bucher@gmail.com)

24. Amy Bucher, Ph.D. (amy.bucher@gmail.com)
How Video
Games Support
Competence

25. Feedback Granularity
Amy Bucher, Ph.D. (amy.bucher@gmail.com)

26. Amy Bucher, Ph.D. (amy.bucher@gmail.com)

27. You’ve Earned a Badge!
Amy Bucher, Ph.D. (amy.bucher@gmail.com)

28. Amy Bucher, Ph.D. (amy.bucher@gmail.com)
Yelp
Untappd
Fitocracy

29. Amy Bucher, Ph.D. (amy.bucher@gmail.com)

31. Amy Bucher, Ph.D. (amy.bucher@gmail.com)
$26
Million
in first year1
1. http://news.starbucks.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=598, retrived October 1, 2012

32. Amy Bucher, Ph.D. (amy.bucher@gmail.com)
J&J Digital Health Scorecard http://www.digitalhealthscorecard.com/?sf7635864=1

33. Amy Bucher, Ph.D. (amy.bucher@gmail.com)

34. Amy Bucher, Ph.D. (amy.bucher@gmail.com)

35. Does it work?
Amy Bucher, Ph.D. (amy.bucher@gmail.com)
http://duolingo.com/#/effectiveness-study
34 Hours of Duolingo 1 University Semester

36. Perceived Relatedness
Show people they’re connected
Amy Bucher, Ph.D. (amy.bucher@gmail.com)

37. Amy Bucher, Ph.D. (amy.bucher@gmail.com)

38. Amy Bucher, Ph.D. (amy.bucher@gmail.com)

39. Amy Bucher, Ph.D. (amy.bucher@gmail.com)
Sometimes the responses
are just
acknowledgements . . .

40. Amy Bucher, Ph.D. (amy.bucher@gmail.com)
Sometimes the
responses are
helpful . . .

41. Amy Bucher, Ph.D. (amy.bucher@gmail.com)
Sometimes the responses
are repetitive . . .

42. Amy Bucher, Ph.D. (amy.bucher@gmail.com)
Sometimes the responses
are to other brands, not
end users . . .

43. Sometimes the responses
are deliberately funny . . .

44. Amy Bucher, Ph.D. (amy.bucher@gmail.com)

45. ELIZA
Human: My boyfriend made me come here.
ELIZA: Your boyfriend made you come here?
Human: He says I’m depressed.
ELIZA: I’m sorry to hear you are depressed.
Human: It’s true. I’m unhappy.
ELIZA: Do you think talking to me will help you
not be unhappy?
Amy Bucher, Ph.D. (amy.bucher@gmail.com)
Weizenbaum, J. (1966). ELIZA—A computer program for the study of natural language
communication between man and machine. Communications of the ACM, 9(1), 36-45.

46. Amy Bucher, Ph.D. (amy.bucher@gmail.com)

47. Amy Bucher, Ph.D. (amy.bucher@gmail.com)

48. Amy Bucher, Ph.D. (amy.bucher@gmail.com)

49. Design that Responds
Amy Bucher, Ph.D. (amy.bucher@gmail.com)

50. Contrast this . . .
Amy Bucher, Ph.D. (amy.bucher@gmail.com)

51. With this:
Amy Bucher, Ph.D. (amy.bucher@gmail.com)

52. SDT Applied to Beer
Amy Bucher, Ph.D. (amy.bucher@gmail.com)

53. Additional Resources
Amy Bucher, Ph.D. (amy.bucher@gmail.com)
Glued to Games, by Scott Rigby and Richard Ryan
selfdeterminationtheory.org  links to academic papers, research
Stanford University Persuasive Technology Lab (
http://captology.stanford.edu/)
I also like:
•Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, by Robert Cialdini
•Willpower, by Roy Baumeister and John Tierney
•The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and in Business, by Charles
Duhigg
From this presentation:

54. Questions & Discussion
Amy Bucher, Ph.D. (amy.bucher@gmail.com)
Amy Bucher, Ph.D.
amy.bucher@gmail.com
@ab_phd