THE COGNITIVE THEORY OF REWARD SYSTEM AND UX DESIGN
Do you remember Pavlov’s Dog?
Ivan Pavlov’s famous experiment with dogs in the 1890s showed that dogs can learn to associate a neutral stimulus, like a bell, with a positive stimulus, like food.
Pavlov’s experiments created the foundation for classical conditioning theory, which is one of the most important concepts in psychology.
The reward system, also known as the mesocorticolimbic circuit, is a network of brain regions in charge of associative learning (mainly positive reinforcement and classical conditioning), positievly valence emotions, especially those with pleasure at their core such as joy, euphoria, and ecstasy , and incentive salience that desire for motivation, craving and urge.
An individual’s behaviour is subsequently modified as a result, eventually prompting them to look for that specific favourable stimulus.
Have you ever lured your kid with rewards of their likes?
My mother has (stop crying, else not buy you a toffee).The moment I stopped crying she said “GOOD GIRL’’. I felt good , though she did not buy me a toffee but she rewarded me through WORDS, verbally.
Reward system influence Human’s dopamine chemicals and derived more association to enhance the habit. Rewards can be tangible, such as items, currency, or achievements, or intangible, such as feedback, praise, or recognition.
Reward systems to increase retention, engagement and organic sharing .
Although reward systems have long been used by experts and professionals, little research has been done on how incentive systems and user experience interact. To entice users, it takes more than just providing extras. If there is a disconnect between what your customers need and what you believe will bring them back, you will not be able to obtain their engagement.
GAMBLER’S BRAIN CHAIN | PSYCHOLOGY
NEAR MISSES REWIRE THE BRAIN
Gamblers considered near misses as if they had won a prize — at least their brains did — even though participants did not get actual money. The Hunger for Winning is Striving to Motivation.
Stress Increases Desire
People under stress experienced three times more intense desire for a reward than others who were stress-free. Behaviourally, acute stress is linked to an increase in incentive motivation and active coping.When people get stressed, or get into a negative valence state, they have much more determination to seek out treats and look for rewards.
Cognitive distortions
It is associated with cognitive distortions, such as thinking that you’ll eventually win if you keep gambling.
Keep Spinning and One day you will Succeed.
Our brains try to store as many details of this pleasure as possible by linking it to memory and emotions.
THAT DISCOUNT YOU RECEIVED JUST BY DOING NOTHING. IN YOUR DAY TO DAY LIFE YOU MIGHT HAVE HEARD DO NOTHING YOU WILL GET REWARDED.One funny thing about Brain, most of the dopamine transfers there before receiving a reward.
It becomes less active after receiving the reward. This means the brain is most active in anticipation of a reward.
GAMER’S BRAIN CHAIN
Teenagers who spend a lot of time on video-games have different structures and activity levels in areas of the brain that are linked to reward.
Gamification is a technique that uses game-like elements to make tasks more enjoyable and encourage participation.The payoffs a player can earn during a game such as points, leveling up, acquisition of special powers, or collecting objects.
How many of you thought you can win it easily .
There are six types of rewards and the gamification loyalty program.
- Fixed action rewards
Fixed action rewards create a transparent roadmap for users. They’ll know exactly what actions earn them exciting rewards. The user already aware of the rewards.
2.Sudden Rewards
There is no trigger or schedule behind them; they happen out of the blue. What makes these rewards so effective is that people love surprises.Surprises are exciting and motivate people to make purchases and interact with the brand. Partially revealing the user about surprise.
3.Random Rewards
The main purpose of random gamification rewards is to spice things up. Increasing excitement and fun also boosts motivation and improve customer loyalty and Retention.
Suddenly You found your office announced a Holiday for MENTAL HEALTH. A Dopamine Hit for Employees.
“OR I WISH MY CREDIT CARD BALANCE GOT PAID FOR ONE AUTOMATICALLY DUE TO LOYALTY RETENTION.’’
4.Price Pacing for Bigger Rewards.
The main goal is to distribute the prize regularly but in smaller doses. It usually involves collection sets. To win a reward, a person must collect all the times from the collection set.
It lets the user more engage with the Brand, Their purchases increase alongside excitement and fun. It’s about creating something of value that sparks interest or attention and may lead to winning amazing rewards.
5. Reward from Friends.
reward refers to cases when it’s given to someone by their friends or family members, word of mouth or refering to your friends.
6. Rolling Rewards
Rewards given to customers or users by chance following the completion of a specific action.In a nutshell, rolling rewards are based on the notion that someone has to win every time. The longer you stay in the game as a participant, the more confident you feel about the potential win. The likelihood of winning the reward, and so as long as you “stay in the game” for long enough, the chances of you winning increases linearly.
Product Psychology Takeaways
while creating emotional design that delved from user’s behaviour to form habit or a two way beneficial strategy to expand business and product or to provide a service, it’s never a good idea to manipulate user for Bad Habit formation.
Games like Flappy Bird or Crazy Cupcakes are so addictive, that it burn down time and nudge to Bad habit formations.
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