~ A multi-part series that helps you understand Mobile App Psychology
Part 1 : Myth Busted
All those who know me, know that I’m not the best book digger. Yet, on a recent trip, I spent 18+ hours on and off transit flights with this incredible book by Nir Eyal. Ever since, my outlook on app development and design has changed like nothing before. Next thing I know, I’m researching behaviour models, brain patterns, cognitive science. The discoveries or rather realisations, blew my mind off, especially because am part of both fan clubs (Team Developers & Team Consumers )
According to experts and my virtual newborn psychologist self, a mobile app that is robust, smart and backed up with highly secure, powerful protocols is not gonna be Prom Queen. This is because we don’t use our favourite apps because someone gave us a motivational pep-talk or told us the tech-stack. We do what we do because we are driven towards believing that it’s making things easy for us, eventually making it a part of our routine. These apps knowingly or unknowingly have slowly and steadily captured the exclusive possession or control of our minds.
An action that seems harder at first, will seem easier with practice.
An action that is easier, is more likely to be repeated.
An action that is repeated time and again, turns into a habit.
An habit that gives you that extra bit of pleasure or satisfaction becomes a behaviour.
This is the underlying mantra of development and design for all the apps that we are addicted to.
An American behaviourist from the 1900s, Burrhus F. Skinner writes about how a behaviour is modified by reinforcement. The stimuli exhibited when a behaviour is rewarded controls the brain cycle of that very behaviour. Modifying and implementing these inferences to meet the needs of our mobile application lifecycle is what is going to make our apps hit the top charts.
My following articles are going to break down the 4 aforementioned points with illustrations and examples, thus making it easy to understand and build apps that could become a part of our lives.
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