Designing Behavior For Fun and Profit

Designing Persuasive Technology for Fun and Prot August 1, 2012
Nir Eyal NirAndFar.com @nireyal
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What kind of advice should you listen to?
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1. Advice that helps you build something people want
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2. That ts your business model
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3. That fullls your purpose in life.
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Ill try to help you with all three, if...
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If...
- Your business depends on frequent user engagement. - You are not evil. Then, you should stay.
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Spoiler: The answer is habits.
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Habits > Viral

Leaky Bucket
K >1
Viral Coefcient (K)
Spammy apps Facebook, Paypal, Pinterest
Rocket Ship
Garbage
K<1
Commitment Business
Evernote, Pandora, Amazon
Low
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High
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Habit Potential
Me
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Why is build rst?
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Patterns
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OMG? businesses
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Vitamins or painkillers?
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Selling painkillers
- Obvious need - stop pain - Quantiable market - Monetizable
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Selling vitamins
- Emotional need, not efcacy - Makes me feel good knowing... - Unknown market
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Vitamins or painkillers?
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Habit when not doing causes pain.

Habit-forming technology
Pleasure seeking Pain alleviation
Vitamin
Painkiller
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Creating pain? (more of an itch)
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Best odds of success
= founder / market t
Access + Speed + Data Everything is becoming more addictive
Desire Engines create habits
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The Desire Engine

Trigger
External Internal
Action
Investment
Var. Reward
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Remember: A TARI
A - A Desire Engine has 4 parts: T - Trigger A - Action R - Reward I - Investment
Trigger
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Trigger Examples
External Alarms Advertising Calls-to-action Emails Stores What to do next is in the trigger
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Internal Emotions Routines Situations Places People What to do next is in the users head
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Habits arent created, they are built upon
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Internal trigger
What is the existing behavior youre
attaching to?
When would user engage? Know the narrative. Every time you
(verb), use ...
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Negative emotions are powerful internal triggers

Dissatised Indecisive Lost Tense Fatigued Inferior
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Fear of loss Bored Lonesome Confused Powerless Discouraged

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Habit-forming products provide a solution to an internally triggered problem.
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External trigger
Formulate consistent calls-to-action. Each embedded answer to what is this
for? supporting the internal trigger.
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The Instagram moment
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Instagram triggers
External - FB and Twitter - App notications Internal - Fear of lossing the moment . . . - Bored, lonesome, curious...
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Action
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when doing < thinking = action

Fogg Behavior Model B = m.a.t.

motivation triggers
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ability
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Factors of ability
Time Money Physical effort Brain cycles Social deviance Non-routine
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ability
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Motivators for Behavior

Sensation Anticipation Social Cohesion Seek: Pleasure Hope Acceptance Avoid: Pain Fear Rejection
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motivation
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How likely is the intended action?
B = m.a.t.
Sufcient motivation, high ability, clear triggers
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Behaviors to actions with cross-functional teams

motivation = marketing triggers = interface design
ability = product
Variable Reward
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Curious by nature
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We crave predictability
Variable rewards
drive us nuts
Compulsion to make
sense of cause and effect drives the search
Dopamine system
The search for rewards

the Tribe the Hunt
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the Self
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Search for Social Rewards

the Tribe
- Acceptance - Sex - Power
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Search for Resources

the Hunt
- Food - Money - Information
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Search for Sensation

the Self
- Mastery - Consistency - Competency - Purpose
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Tribe, Hunt, or Self?
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Dare you not to scroll

Var Rewards Levers
Type Frequency Amplitude

Investment
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Investment
Where user does a bit
of work.
Pays with something
of value: time, money, social capital, effort, emotional commitment, personal data ...
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Doing work, increases commitment

- People who pick lottery numbers assign greater odds. - More likely to play.
Langer, 1975
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Little commitments, big results

Group 1: 83% refused Group 2: 76% accepted
Freedman & Fraser, 1966
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The crazy logic of commitment

Credit to Jesse Schell
Should I spend (time, money, effort ...) on

this? Is it good? not good.
Only an idiot would spend on something Since I spent on it before and I am not an
idiot, it must be good.
Commitments are about future rewards that make the next action more likely.
Investing in Any.do
Investment into the
product with time, data, and social capital
Loads the next
external trigger and teaches the internal trigger - when? and what for?
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When Desire Engines works: High habit potential:

- Frequent behaviors - Fast cycles
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Cycles over time

Increase motivation and difculty of action
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Desire Engine Canvas

Trigger Action
Investment
Var. Reward
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The Desire Engine helps you create and prioritize hypotheses to test.
1. Start with the intended ACTION
What behavior does your
business model depend on? want user to want to scroll.
Make simple and dened. We

2. Think of what the INTERNAL TRIGGER will be.
Whats the existing behavior

youre attaching to?
When would user engage? Know the narrative. Every

time you (verb), use ...
3. Find the EXTERNAL TRIGGER(s)
Formulate calls-to-action. Each embedded with a
consistent answer to what is this for? based on internal trigger.

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4. Add VARIABLE REWARDS

Must be authentic and meaningful
to the user.
Formulate multiple hypotheses
using various types of searches for rewards (tribe, hunt, self)

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Change frequency and amplitude

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5. Ask for INVESTMENT
Does it increase the likelihood

of the next cycle through Desire Engine? Time, money, social capital, data, emotional commitment, physical effort.
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Be a facilitator.
BUILD the change you want to see in the world.
Please raise your phone in the air.

Leave Feedback, Get Slides, Subscribe
OpinionTo.us
Examples
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Email
T
Icon on phone Procrastinate, anxiety, thoughts of others.... Open unread messages
I
Write back Tribe, hunt and self
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Farmville
T
Facebook feed, email ... Boredom, lonesome, loss aversion = anxiety Play
Build farm Invite others Pay $
Points (hunt) Personalized
virtual goods (self)

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Twitter (Consumer)
T
Facebook, friend, email ...
A
Scroll
I
Follow Information (Hunt)
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Twitter (Creator)
T
App icon, mention, message Boredom, curiosity, Lonesome
A
Re-Tweet or Tweet
I
Connect with others: @ reply, DM ...
@nireyal
R
Social feedback (Tribe)
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Designing Persuasive Technology for Fun and Prot August 1, 2012

Nir Eyal NirAndFar.com @nireyal

Warning: Ugly slides ahead (please help)

What kind of advice should you listen to?

1. Advice that helps you build something people want

2. That ts your business model

3. That fullls your purpose in life.

Ill try to help you with all three, if...

Spoiler: The answer is habits.

Habits > Viral

Why is build rst?

- Obvious need - stop pain - Quantiable market - Monetizable

Habit when not doing causes pain.

Creating pain? (more of an itch)

Best odds of success

Access + Speed + Data Everything is becoming more addictive

Desire Engines create habits

The Desire Engine

Habits arent created, they are built upon

Negative emotions are powerful internal triggers

Fear of loss Bored Lonesome Confused Powerless Discouraged

Habit-forming products provide a solution to an internally triggered problem.

The Instagram moment

when doing < thinking = action

Fogg Behavior Model B = m.a.t.

Motivators for Behavior

How likely is the intended action?

Sufcient motivation, high ability, clear triggers

Behaviors to actions with cross-functional teams

The search for rewards

Search for Social Rewards

Search for Resources

Search for Sensation

Tribe, Hunt, or Self?

Tribe, Hunt, or Self?

Tribe, Hunt, or Self?

Dare you not to scroll

Var Rewards Levers

Type Frequency Amplitude

Pays with something

Doing work, increases commitment

Little commitments, big results

Freedman & Fraser, 1966

The crazy logic of commitment

Should I spend (time, money, effort ...) on

Loads the next

When Desire Engines works: High habit potential:

Cycles over time

Desire Engine Canvas

1. Start with the intended ACTION

What behavior does your

business model depend on? want user to want to scroll.

Make simple and dened. We

2. Think of what the INTERNAL TRIGGER will be.

Whats the existing behavior

When would user engage? Know the narrative. Every

3. Find the EXTERNAL TRIGGER(s)

Formulate calls-to-action. Each embedded with a

consistent answer to what is this for? based on internal trigger.

4. Add VARIABLE REWARDS

Formulate multiple hypotheses

using various types of searches for rewards (tribe, hunt, self)

Change frequency and amplitude