Create products, shape habits. Interview with Nir Eyal
At the beginning of the month, the world saw a new book from Nir Eyal “Hobby: How to create a product that forms habits”. A week ago, the author gave an interview to uxbooth.com, we bring to your attention a free translation of this conversation:
In your book, you describe a “trap” (hook), how to use user experience in order to form the user's habit of constantly using a certain resource. You also mention the moral dilemmas associated with the creation of this tool. How to distinguish unhealthy propensity from a well-developed trap?
Bad habits are terrible, they harm the user. I believe that we are approaching an era in which designers can help their users form healthy habits using the technologies they use. By creating addiction to a particular product, we can help people live a healthier, happier, and more active life. We just need to understand the deep psychological aspects of the habit in order to be able to shape them.
Of course, sometimes we use too much technology, but each of us is able to think and find the right rhythm. Even though the user is overloaded with sites like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, I think they do much more good than harm. For example, I would not like to return to the times when they did not exist. I’m sure they help people interact and definitely improve my life.
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When people understand what makes these products so powerful, they can put them in their place. The main thing is that we control our habits, and not habits control us.
As the Internet of things develops, we expect technology to ensure that they can anticipate our needs and desires. How would you use this expectation when designing a habit-forming product?
Foreseeing user needs is the basis of good design. As technology develops and spreads, this idea is gaining more and more weight. The fact that modern devices are capable of sending reminders and warnings in various forms indicates their ability to change our behavior in areas where it was impossible several years ago. The programs that we use are easily transferred from a computer to a laptop, mobile phone and other wearable devices, so we are sure that we will soon see a much larger number of technology that forms habits.
Could you please give us an example of a full-fledged trap foreseeing the user's needs?
The better the external trigger (notification) finds a response in the internal trigger (emotional need), the higher the likelihood that the user will respond to this stimulus. For example, Yahoo's news digest is surprisingly addictive. He sends you a notice in the morning, just at the time when you subconsciously worry about the lack of information about what is happening in the world. Over time, the user develops the habit of using the application even without a reminder.
I think the topic of internal and external triggers is especially interesting. What is it and what irritant is able to resonate with the user's internal trigger?
The “trap” of experience connects the problems of users with the solution proposed by one company or another, often enough to form a habit. This technique is used in many products that we use, not really thinking about it. Over time, the user forms a clear link (association) between the problem and its solution, a habit is formed. External stimuli, such as advertising or a call to action, activate the internal trigger through this association.
Product use is usually associated with an emotional pain point. For example, what product do people use when they feel lonely and are looking for communication? Facebook of course! What do we do when we feel uncertain? We google! And when are we bored? Many people open YouTube, Pinterest, check sports scores or watch stock prices - there are a lot of products that appeal to boredom.
The product uses a trap to create a powerful association. This process involves four steps: trigger, action, reward, and investment.
What criteria must an “award" meet to be effective and successful?
The classic work of B. F. Skinner on intermittent (partial) reinforcement asserts that obtaining a reward on a ragged schedule is more effective in shaping a certain behavior. Of course, we see the same mechanism that influenced Skinner's famous laboratory pigeons, influencing our behavior every day. All products use variable rewards to get us back.
I identify three types of partial reinforcements that use such products: Tribe Awards (Rewards of the Tribe), Trophies (Hunt) and Internal Awards (Self). All three types are extremely effective and use the effect of partial reinforcement, but differ in the type of reward. Tribal rewards are fixers that arise when interacting with other people: competition, cooperation, the joy of communication. Trophies are getting information and resources, and Internal rewards are motivation, skill, the ability to control. The most effective products use three methods of fastening at once.
The key to success is to understand the user's pain point. The only way to do this is to start with an internal trigger. There must be a connection between this trigger and an external stimulus, otherwise the trap will not work.
What would you recommend to our readers?
Create products that will improve the lives of people, and that you yourself will use. Then you will not only be sure that the manipulation you use has a strong moral foundation, but you will also perfectly understand the user, which will significantly increase your chances of success.
In your book, you describe a “trap” (hook), how to use user experience in order to form the user's habit of constantly using a certain resource. You also mention the moral dilemmas associated with the creation of this tool. How to distinguish unhealthy propensity from a well-developed trap?
Bad habits are terrible, they harm the user. I believe that we are approaching an era in which designers can help their users form healthy habits using the technologies they use. By creating addiction to a particular product, we can help people live a healthier, happier, and more active life. We just need to understand the deep psychological aspects of the habit in order to be able to shape them.
Of course, sometimes we use too much technology, but each of us is able to think and find the right rhythm. Even though the user is overloaded with sites like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, I think they do much more good than harm. For example, I would not like to return to the times when they did not exist. I’m sure they help people interact and definitely improve my life.
')
When people understand what makes these products so powerful, they can put them in their place. The main thing is that we control our habits, and not habits control us.
As the Internet of things develops, we expect technology to ensure that they can anticipate our needs and desires. How would you use this expectation when designing a habit-forming product?
Foreseeing user needs is the basis of good design. As technology develops and spreads, this idea is gaining more and more weight. The fact that modern devices are capable of sending reminders and warnings in various forms indicates their ability to change our behavior in areas where it was impossible several years ago. The programs that we use are easily transferred from a computer to a laptop, mobile phone and other wearable devices, so we are sure that we will soon see a much larger number of technology that forms habits.
Could you please give us an example of a full-fledged trap foreseeing the user's needs?
The better the external trigger (notification) finds a response in the internal trigger (emotional need), the higher the likelihood that the user will respond to this stimulus. For example, Yahoo's news digest is surprisingly addictive. He sends you a notice in the morning, just at the time when you subconsciously worry about the lack of information about what is happening in the world. Over time, the user develops the habit of using the application even without a reminder.
I think the topic of internal and external triggers is especially interesting. What is it and what irritant is able to resonate with the user's internal trigger?
The “trap” of experience connects the problems of users with the solution proposed by one company or another, often enough to form a habit. This technique is used in many products that we use, not really thinking about it. Over time, the user forms a clear link (association) between the problem and its solution, a habit is formed. External stimuli, such as advertising or a call to action, activate the internal trigger through this association.
Product use is usually associated with an emotional pain point. For example, what product do people use when they feel lonely and are looking for communication? Facebook of course! What do we do when we feel uncertain? We google! And when are we bored? Many people open YouTube, Pinterest, check sports scores or watch stock prices - there are a lot of products that appeal to boredom.
The product uses a trap to create a powerful association. This process involves four steps: trigger, action, reward, and investment.
Triggers are of two types: external and internal. Addictive products start with external stimuli, such as mailing, website links, or the application icon on the phone.
Suppose Barbara, a young woman from the state of Pennsylvania, saw in her Facebook feed a nice photo of a relative from the countryside. She really likes this picture, and she thinks that it would be nice to go there with her brother. The external trigger had its effect, and she clicks on the photo. Through the sequential impact of traps, users begin to form an association between a stimulus and an internal trigger (need), which becomes part of everyday behavior.
Nier Eyyal, "Passionate: How to create a product that forms habits."
What criteria must an “award" meet to be effective and successful?
The classic work of B. F. Skinner on intermittent (partial) reinforcement asserts that obtaining a reward on a ragged schedule is more effective in shaping a certain behavior. Of course, we see the same mechanism that influenced Skinner's famous laboratory pigeons, influencing our behavior every day. All products use variable rewards to get us back.
I identify three types of partial reinforcements that use such products: Tribe Awards (Rewards of the Tribe), Trophies (Hunt) and Internal Awards (Self). All three types are extremely effective and use the effect of partial reinforcement, but differ in the type of reward. Tribal rewards are fixers that arise when interacting with other people: competition, cooperation, the joy of communication. Trophies are getting information and resources, and Internal rewards are motivation, skill, the ability to control. The most effective products use three methods of fastening at once.
The key to success is to understand the user's pain point. The only way to do this is to start with an internal trigger. There must be a connection between this trigger and an external stimulus, otherwise the trap will not work.
What would you recommend to our readers?
Create products that will improve the lives of people, and that you yourself will use. Then you will not only be sure that the manipulation you use has a strong moral foundation, but you will also perfectly understand the user, which will significantly increase your chances of success.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/243283/
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