Designing for Moral Mornings and Naughty Nights
Are you a moral person?
It’s a silly question, of course. We all have our own moral framework. Your framework might be very similar to mine — or quite different– but we all have our own version.
But how flexible is your moral framework? Does it change often? For instance, if I questioned you about your ethics today, would you expect to give a different answer a week later? Probably not, right?
Apparently, our moral compasses are not as fixed as we’d like to think — even over the course of a single day.
Now, when we’re talking about ‘morals’ here, we’re not talking about the big obvious ones. The vast majority of us understand it’s wrong to injure or kill. Ixnay on the smiting and stealing. But what about those little sins?
For instance, do you:
- … always scoop after your dog poops?
- … go to the gym or watch Netflix?
- … choose muesli or donuts for breakfast?
- … tell the truth about why you were late — or not…?
- … leave that cup on the sink or wash it?
There are a million little tests in a day.
The Theory of Morning Morality
According to a recent study — The Morning Morality Effect (Maryam Kouchaki & Isaac H. Smith) — our decisions change over the course of a normal day. Early in the day, we’re far more likely to stick to our moral and ethical code more stringently and choose the muesli.
But as the day wears on, we’re increasingly likely to let our guard slip and take an easy option over the ‘right’ option. That’s dialing the pizza instead of cooking what’s in the refrigerator. The Harvard study says:
According to the strength model of self-regulation (Baumeister et al., 1998; Muraven & Baumeister, 2000), the capacity for self-control is like a muscle and requires rest after use for its strength to be restored. All acts of self-control thus draw from the same finite resource, and the depletion of that resource hinders a person’s ability to subsequently exert self-control.
Interesting stuff.
What Does This Mean to How We Build Applications?
We can’t always know the local time for our users, but when we do, this can help us decide what to offer them and when. There are times when we want to appeal to their sense of duty, ambition, and purpose. That’s more of an AM thing.
There are other times when we might want to appeal to their sense of self-indulgence or escapism. That’s more a PM thing.
For instance, a bookseller like Amazon will likely get better results in the morning by making ‘7 Habits of Highly Effective People’ very prominent. People are feeling motivated and intent on doing the right thing.
But as the afternoon wears on and people tire, perhaps ‘Fifty Shades of Chicken’ increases its appeal (yes, it’s a real book).
Fitness Apps
What about a fitness app like Runkeeper?
Runkeeper has always used nicely crafted messages to motivate their users (and, in turn, maintain their engagement).
This Harvard study tells us these messages will be much more effective if you send them before lunch.
However, later in the day — when they’re tired and looking for a taste of sugar — is the perfect time to pat them on the back for what they’ve already accomplished.
“Hey, you’ve done 25 miles since August 1st. You’re killing it!”.
At the end of a long day, a little love can go a long way.
Originally published in the SitePoint Design Newsletter.
