This document provides an overview of psychological principles for persuasive technology and behavior change. It discusses foundational concepts like motivation and ability, psychological architectures that combine principles, and time-based processes of change. The key points covered include how psychological forces combine through reinforcement or contradiction; optimizing mixtures of persuasive ingredients; feedback loops for goal setting and progress; and integrating gamification mechanics with behavior change techniques. The overall aim is to understand how to design technologies that apply psychological theories and optimize influence through blended combinations of motivational factors.

1. PSYCHOLOGICAL ARCHITECTURES
& PERSUASIVE TECH
SXSW Interactive
Brian Cugelman, PhD
@cugelman
Austin, Texas
14 March 2015
BETA slides

2. AGENDA
• Starting out
• Foundational principles (crazy fast overview)
• Combining psychological principles
• Building Psychological Architectures
• Motivation and ability
• Solo and social selling
• Goals, feedback, progress
• Time-based processes of change
2

3. BRIAN CUGELMAN, PHD
3
imcba.comalterspark.com

4. FOUNDATIONAL PRINCIPLES
(CRAZY FAST OVERVIEW)
4

5. 5
BEHAVIOR CHANGE TECHNOLOGIES

6. 6
WHAT’S PERSUASIVE TECHNOLOGY

7. REALITY CHECK ON DIGITAL INFLUENCE
7

8. 8
Let’s take a realistic approach to habit formation
with 66 avg days and most people abandoning your
technology after a few sessions.

9. 9
INFLUENCE CAPACITY COMES FROM PERSUASIVE
INGREDIENTS BLENDED INTO OPTIMIZED RECIPES

10. OPTIMIZATION: THE MIX OF INGREDIENTS THAT
ACHIEVES THE MOST IMPACT WITH THE LEAST EFFORT
10
Number of persuasive ingredients
Influencepotential
How do you know when you have too few or too many?
Too
few
Too
many
Just right
Cugelman, B., Thelwall, M., & Dawes, P. (2011). Online Interventions for Social Marketing Health
Behavior Change Campaigns: A Meta-Analysis of Psychological Architectures and Adherence Factors.
Journal of Medical Internet Research, 13(1), e17.

11. 11How many ingredients can you find?

12. INTERACTIVE INFLUENCE MODEL
12

13. 13
DOMAIN 1. SOURCE (CREDIBILITY)

14. DOMAIN 2. SOURCE MESSAGE
14

15. DOMAIN 3. MEDIA
15

16. DOMAIN 4. MESSAGE EXPRESSION
& INTERPRETATION
16

17. DOMAIN 5. AUDIENCE
17

18. DOMAIN 6. FEEDBACK EXPRESSION &
INTERPRETATION
18

19. DOMAIN 7. AUDIENCE FEEDBACK
19

20. DOMAIN 8. SOCIAL AND PHYSICAL CONTEXT
20

21. OPTIMIZATION
21

22. COMBINING PSYCHOLOGICAL
PRINCIPLES
22

23. HOW PHYSICAL FORCES COMBINE
23
Push
Which exerts the most physical force?
A
B
C
Pull
PullPush
Let’s discuss how to throw someone with Jujitsu.

24. HOW PSYCHOLOGICAL FORCES COMBINE
24
IncentiveA
B
C
Which exerts the most psychological pressure?
Avoiding punishment
(loss aversion)
Avoiding punishment
(loss aversion)
Incentive

25. 25

26. C
Obtain reward
(If I buy more, I’ll save the
cost of shipping)
Avoid punishment
(If I don’t buy more, I’ll lose the
cost of shipping)
POWERFUL MECHANICS EXPRESS
MULTIPLE PRINCIPLES AT ONCE
26

27. C
WHAT IF WE HAVE COMPETING INCENTIVES?
27

28. Value proposition
KEEPING PRINCIPLES IN THE PERSUASIVE ZONE
28
PersuasiveZone
Lack of ability
(complexity)
Lack of credibility
Goal

29. CONSIDER THE NET IMPACT WHEN
COMBINING PSYCHOLOGY
• Do principles reinforce each other, providing
greater force in one direction? (e.g. carrot and
stick)
• Do principles contradict each other, pushing
users in contradictory directions? (e.g. free
shipping if you buy more or sign-up for a
program)
• Do principles overlap, canceling out the impact of
the other? (e.g. a good testimonial and bad star
rating)
29

30. REINFORCES OR UNDERMINES?
30
Setting goals and making
commitments Exercises 3
times per
week
Reminders & prompts
Setting goals and making
commitments Exercises 3
times per
week
Punish on failure

31. REINFORCES OR UNDERMINES?
31
Exercises 3
times per
week
Exercises 3
times per
week
Complicating
Remove personal barriers &
friction

32. WHAT IF WE WANT TO
DEMOTIVATE USERS?
32
Exercises 3
times per
week
Exercises 3
times per
week
Publicizing embarrassing
performance
Undermine confidence

33. BUILDING PSYCHOLOGICAL
ARCHITECTURES
33

34. 34
NOMENCLATURE

35. FITTING THEM TOGETHER
Mechanics
Outcome
Respectful
privacy
policy
Honesty in
source
credibility
Expertise
in source
credibility
Client
testimonial
Social
learning
(norms)
Architecture

36. PSYCHOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES
36

37. PSYCHOLOGICAL PACKAGES
37
Stick Carrot
Pain Pleasure Motivation Ability
Fear Efficacy
Just a few examples

38. PSYCHOLOGICAL ARCHITECTURES
38
Theory of planned behavior
(Scientifically validated)
L.I.F.T
(Industry practice)
Psychological principles that reinforce each other,
producing effects greater than the sum of their parts.
Mechanics? What are some ways we might implement
these concepts in a landing page, to obtain a donation for
a social cause?

39. WHAT IF THE THEORY OF PLANNED BEHAVIOR
INSPIRED A USER INTERFACE?
39
Value proposition
[behavior, Intention]
Subjective norm
[Social learning]
Behavioral attitude
[Incentives,
Loss aversion]
Perceived behavioral control
[Self-confidence, Skills]
Now you’re doing evidence-based design.

40. FROM GAME-IFICATION TO TAMAGOTCH-IFICATION, TO
WHATEVER-IFICATION
40
?
?
?
?
What if a Tamagotchi inspired a user interface?

41. MOTIVATION AND ABILITY
41

42. MOTIVATION-GATEWAY
42
2. Source message
201.Proposition that motivates (explicit,
implicit)
Incentives +(+):
-201 a. Promise they’ll gain pros +(+ +)
Loss aversion –(-):
-201 c. Promise they’ll avoid losing pros -(- +)
202. Path or opportunity (facilitated,
advocated)
203. CTA (overt, covert)
5. Audience 502. motivation (decision balance)
-502 a. Intellectual (beliefs)
-502 b. Emotional (attitudes)
503. Ability (internal outcome confidence)
7. Audience feedback 712. Reinforcement
712 a. Reward on success

43. 43

44. 44

45. 45
Has this user
taken action
(signed-up,
paid, etc...)
Present something
the user wants
Give them what
they want
Tell them to take
an action, to get
what they want
Did they take
the action?
START
Y
Y
N
N

46. EXTENDED PARALLEL PROCESS MODEL
46
2. Source
message
201.Proposition that motivates (explicit, implicit)
Loss aversion –(-):
-201 c. Promise they’ll avoid losing pros -(- +)
-201 d. Promise they’ll avoid gaining cons -(+ -)
202. Path or opportunity (facilitated, advocated)
5. Audience 502. Motivation (decision balance)
-502 a. Intellectual (beliefs)
-502 b. Emotional (attitudes)
503. Ability (internal outcome confidence)
-503 a. Skills
-503 b. Self-confidence (efficacy)

47. 47

48. 48

49. MALWARE AND ANTI-VIRUS USE SIMILAR TACTICS
49

50. SOLO AND SOCIAL SELLING
50

51. 51
LANDING PAGE

52. 52
Proposition
Source
Proposition (provide pros)
Motivation (intellectual)
Path
Call to action
Call to action
Removing
personal
barriers &
friction
Proposition (provide pros)
Motivation (intellectual, Emotional)

53. WILL I GET SOMETHING THAT MEETS MY NEEDS?
53
Belief Attitude Trust Action
Outcome
confidence
Intellectual
evidence
Emotional
appeal Ability

54. http://www.my-landing-page.com
54
Benefit from this awesome
value proposition
Wicked benefits
•You’ll gain this
•You reduce this stress
•You’ll save all this time
Unique features
•We provide all these features
•You’ll be able to do all of this
•This is how it works
Emotionally
evocative image
Example of its
features or
how it works
100%
confidence
guarantee
Sign-up NOW.

55. GROUP BUYING
55
Principles
1. Motivation (Proposition)
2. Framing offers
3. Scarcity and urgency
4. Social learning (norms)
5. Social diffusion
6. Source credibility
7. Trust in the source and path
8. Call to action

56. 56
Motivation (proposition)
Scarcity and urgency
Social
learning
(norms)
CTA
Framing offers
Social diffusion
Motivation
(intellectual
, emotional)
Motivation (intellectual, emotional)
Source
Trust
Likeable,
Similar
Source
Scarcity and
urgency
Social
diffusion

57. GOALS, FEEDBACK, PROGRESS
57

58. Feedback loop (self-regulation)
58
Compare goal to
performance
(reaction)
Behavioral
outcome
(variable)
Set a goal
(reference value)
Barriers &
friction
(disturbance)
Receive feedback
on performance
(input)
Perform
behavior
(output)
Carver, C. and M. Scheier (2005). On the structure of behavioral self-regulation. Handbook of self-regulation. M. Boekaerts, P. Pintrich and M. Zeidner. San
Diego, USA, Guilford Press.

59. 59
WITHINGS SCALE

60. LOOP TYPES
Reference value (norm)
Behavioral outcome (variable)
-
+

61. Persistence and self-confidence
61
Perform
behavior
(output)
Evaluate
expectancy
of success
Carver, C. and M. Scheier (2005). On the structure of behavioral self-regulation. Handbook of self-regulation. M. Boekaerts, P. Pintrich and M. Zeidner. San
Diego, USA, Guilford Press.
Self-
regulation
Success?
Attain
goals
Yes
No
Give up
Confident
(hopeful)
No
Yes

62. GAMIFICATION
62
Cugelman, B. Gamification: What It Is and Why It Matters to Digital Health Behavior Change
Developers. JMIR Serious Games, 1(1), e3.

63. 63

64. WHAT’S A GAME
64

65. DEFINING GAMIFICATION
65
Using game design elements in non-game contexts

66. IT’S NOT GIVING OUT SUPERFICIAL POINTS
66

67. GAMIFICATION: IT'S NOT ABOUT BADGES
67
"A soldier will fight long and
hard for a bit of colored
ribbon."
-Napoleon Bonaparte

68. THE MOTIVATIONAL VALUE OF BADGES/POINTS
68
Cashing in
your points
3. Foursquare
badges
1. War hero
ribbons
4. Rat race
2. World of
Warcraft
points
5. Nobel
peace
prize

69. FLOW
69Mihály Csíkszentmihályi
Challenge
Skilllow high
high
low
Stress
Boredom

70. TOP 10 GAMIFICATION MECHANICS
70
Mechanics
1. Providing clear goals
2. Offering a challenge
3. Using levels (incremental challenges)
4. Allocating points
5. Showing progress
6. Providing feedback
7. Giving rewards
8. Providing badges for achievements
9. Showing the game leaders
10. Giving a story or theme
Hamari, J., J. Koivisto, et al. (2004). Does Gamification Work? – A Literature Review of Empirical Studies on Gamification.
47th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, Hawaii, USA.

71. POINTS, BADGES, AND LEADERBOARDS
71
What’s are the principles that matter? (gigya.com plugin)
LeaderboardBadgesPoints

72. GAMIFICATION AND HEALTH BEHAVIOR CHANGE
72
Gamification principles Proven health behavior change principles and techniques Cohen's d
1. Goal setting Agree behavioral contract 0.275
Goal setting (behavior) 0.245
Motivation and goals (intention) 0.229
2. Capacity to overcome challenges Time management 0.343
Action planning 0.24
Barrier identification/problem solving 0.224
Provide information on where and when to perform the behavior 0.218
Provide instruction on how to perform the behavior 0.212
Model/demonstrate the behavior 0.21
Skills 0.185
3. Feedback on performance Prompt self-monitoring of behavioral outcome 0.263
Prompt self-monitoring of behavior 0.223
Provide information on consequences of behavior relevant to the individual 0.208
Provide information about others’ approval 0.206
Memory, attention, and decision processes 0.188
4. Reinforcement Provide rewards contingent on successful behavior 0.291
5. Compare progress Prompt self-monitoring of behavioral outcome 0.263
Provide normative information about others’ behavior 0.246
Facilitate social comparison 0.226
Prompt self-monitoring of behavior 0.223
Provide information about others’ approval 0.206
6. Social participation Social influences (norms) 0.25
Plan social support/social change 0.25
Provide normative information about others’ behavior 0.246
Model/demonstrate the behavior 0.21
Provide information about others’ approval 0.206
Cugelman, B. Gamification: What It Is and Why It Matters to Digital Health Behavior Change
Developers. JMIR Serious Games, 1(1), e3.

73. TIME-BASED PROCESSES OF
CHANGE
73

74. INTEGRATED MODEL
74
Aware &
Familiar
Interest &
Consideration
Desire &
Decision
Action
Maintenance
& Loyalty
Abandonment & Relapse
Prochaska’s stages of change, adapted with commercial stages.

75. 75
COACHING: GOAL ATTAINMENT

76. PSYCHOLOGICAL ARCHITECTURE OF
HEALTH BEHAVIOR CHANGE TECHNOLOGIES
CUGELMAN, B., THELWALL, M., & DAWES, P. (2011) Online interventions for social marketing health behavior change
campaigns: A meta-analysis of psychological architectures and adherence factors. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 13(1),
e17. http://www.jmir.org/2011/1/e17/
76
EffectSize(d)
Interventions(%)

77. 77

78. DECISION BALANCE: PROS AND CONS
78
Aware & Familiar
Interest &
Consideration
Desire &
Decision
Action
Maintenance
& Loyalty
Cons of change
More important in the unaware stage
Pros of change
More important in the action stage
Adapted from Prochaska, J., Norcross, J., & DiClemente, C. (1995). Changing for Good: A Revolutionary
Six-Stage Program for Overcoming Bad Habits and Moving Your Life Positively Forward: Collins
Messagingvalence

79. CARROT AND STICK
Good cop. Bad cop.
2. Source message
201.Proposition that motivates (explicit,
implicit)
Incentives +(+):
-201 a. Promise they’ll gain pros +(+ +)
-201 b. Promise they’ll lose cons +(- -)
Loss aversion –(-):
-201 c. Promise they’ll avoid losing pros -(- +)
-201 d. Promise they’ll avoid gaining cons -(+ -)
202. Path or opportunity (facilitated,
advocated)
203. CTA (overt, covert)
7. Audience
feedback
712. Reinforcement
-712 a. Reward on success
-712 b. Punish on failure

80. PROGRESSIVE THREATS
The opposite of the most effective health behavior change process
Time
Messagingvalence

81. 81

82. CLOSING
82

83. Thanks so much.
83
Next steps:
1. Stay in touch on Twitter
@cugelman
2. Learn about our workshops
alterspark.com/dbc
3. Learn about group training
info(at)alterspark.com