The Final Touch on Gamification: the Trigger

Today I will talk about triggers, the final factor of the Fogg's Behavior Model (FBM). From the discussions in my earlier posts, there seems to be some confusion between trigger and motivation. I like to clarify that delineation today.

Why Trigger?

In my previous two articles, we talked about how game mechanics/dynamics motivate users and increase their ability (or perceived ability through increasing the task’s simplicity). This is important as we should be able to move users to the upper right of the ability-motivation axis above the activation threshold of the desired action. However, the user may still not take the action, even if he is motivated and has the ability.

There can be many reasons for the lack of action. Just to name a few examples, the user may be:

1. Unaware of his ability (e.g. didn’t know that he can take such action, unaware of the simplicity of the task etc.)
2. Hesitant (e.g. unsure if it is appropriate, unsure if it is the right time, question his motivation, etc.)
3. Distracted (engaged in another routine activity due to behavior momentum)

A good trigger is designed to solve these problems. A trigger can take many forms but its function is simple. It prompts the user for action now. The only requirements are that the user must:

1. be aware of the trigger
2. understand what the trigger means.

Since the trigger tells the user to do something, it must indirectly make the user aware of the fact that he can do what he was asked to do, and it is appropriate to do it now. Furthermore, it can even serve to interrupt other routines that the user has been engaged in.

Triggers Depend on the User’s Behavioral Trajectory

Despite the simple function of triggers, there are actually many different types of triggers for people with different behavioral trajectories. This is because there are many possible behavioral trajectories to reach the activation threshold on the upper right of the motivation-ability plane.

If people already have the ability, but they are not motivated, then their behavioral trajectory may look like figure 1a. On the other hand, if they have the motivation but lack the ability, then they will probably reach the activation threshold as in figure 1b.There are also those who have the ability and motivation, but they are just waiting to be triggered to take some action.

For these three types of behavioral trajectories, Prof. B. J. Fogg has outlined three types of triggers:

1. Spark: for trajectory 1a, people who have the ability, but not motivated. This type of trigger is often built-in as part of the motivation mechanism. This is why some people are confused by the difference between motivation and trigger, but triggers are not inherently tied to motivation in FBM.
2. Facilitator: for trajectory 1b, people who are motivated, but lack ability (or perceived ability). This type of trigger often simplifies the task by highlighting its simplicity. It is often used with the progression dynamics to create anticipation as the user practice and improve his ability towards the final goal.
3. Signal: for people who have both the motivation and the ability. This type of trigger should only serve as a reminder. It shouldn’t try to motivate users who are already motivated. Otherwise, it can easily turn into an annoyance. It shouldn’t simplify the task either. Doing so may actually make the task seem boring and not challenging enough.

In most realistic situations, people’s behavioral trajectory will be somewhere in between these three extremes. Designing the proper triggers requires a good understanding of the users’ motivation level and ability. Although many gamification techniques focus on driving action through motivation, We found that people are most receptive to facilitator and signal triggers. This is because spark triggers often aim to motivate people to take actions that they wouldn’t otherwise intend to take. This can be annoying when used in the wrong context or used too frequently.

Triggers Depend on the Gamer's Personality

The effectiveness of triggers may also depend on people’s gaming personality. As I mentioned in the introductory post to this series, early game researcher, Richard Bartle, identified four major types of gaming personalities: Achiever, Explorer, Socializer, and Killer. Keep in mind that there are many other ways to classify players, but the important to note here is that different types of triggers do appeal to different personalities.

• For example, killers are extremely competitive. A trigger that challenges them can quickly launch them into action (provided that they have the motivation and ability).
• On the other extreme, socializers hate confrontation and tend to follow the crowd. So a good trigger for this type of personality would be something like “10 of your friends are doing this now, want to join?”
• Achievers are driven by status, so spark triggers that are associated with an increased of status could be very effective for this group.
• Finally, explorers are driven by discovery, the uniqueness of their contribution in a timeless and unbounded world. So a trigger that calls upon their unique skill for help without too much time pressure could be very appealing to them.

Conclusion

Today, we talked about the last factor of FBM: the Trigger. We learned that without a proper trigger, motivation and ability may not be sufficient to bring about action. Although a trigger’s function is simply to prompt a user for action, designing an effective trigger is challenging, because a trigger’s efficacy depends on many factors. We discussed two that are used often in game dynamics:

1. Behavioral trajectory: Based on the trajectory that brings a user to the activation threshold, Prof. Fogg categorized triggers into three types: (a) Spark, (b) Facilitator, and (c) Signal.
2. Gaming personality (Bartle’s gamer typology): (a) Achiever, (b) Explorer, (c) Socializer, and (d) Killer.

This post concludes our theoretical investigation of gamification. Through FBM, we learn that successful gamification is all about driving the user above the activation threshold by:

1. Motivating them
2. Increasing their ability (or perceived ability)
3. And then applying the proper trigger at the right time

This temporal convergence of motivation, ability, and trigger is why gamification is able to modify, alter, and manipulate human behaviors.

Now that we have all the theory under our belt, we can start exploring the business application of gamification later. So stay tuned. I hope to see you next time. But for now, let’s have a discussion and explore the subtleties of triggers. I welcome all comments as usual.

*Image Credit: Pexels.

*Twitter: @mich8elwu, Youtube: my channel.