Where a ‘motivational GPS’ could lead gamification researchers

Gamification is an innovative way to influence behaviour, but it’s not exactly brain science. Or is it?

At the Gamification 2013 conference that took place in Stratford, Ont. last fall, Kes Sampanthar explored how research in neuroscience and even classical psychology could teach designers about what gets players playing, and what doesn’t.

Sampanthar, research director at Baltimore-based design agency Cynergy, looked back at the famous experiment conducted by B. F. Skinner involving a rat who responded to a light by pushing a lever, at which point he received some kind of food as a reward. Sampanthar likened this to the badges and leaderboards typical of gamification strategies and suggested that much of what factors into motivation is more about brain chemicals than anything else.

“It’s not the food you’re enjoying, or the badges you’re enjoying,” he said. Instead, it’s differences between endorphins and dopamine, which manifest themselves as “liking” or “wanting,” he said. “These things, liking and wanting, are often confused.”

In the video below, Sampanthar explains how gamification researchers can create “pleasure maps” that identify the cause-and-effect relationship of various factors. This could help be the starting point for what he calls a “motivational GPS” to create better or more engaging games.

To learn more, download Sampanthar’s research” chapter, “The Motivational GPS: Would a rat press a lever to get a badge?”