Help Make Learning a Habit
Trigger
A trigger, either internal or external, leads to a behavior—it’s the spark that prompts action. Habit-forming merchandise begin by alerting users with external triggers such as associate email, a website link, or an app icon on a good phone, with the aim of prompting repeat engagement until a habit is fashioned. The trigger also tells the user of what to do next—to act.
Action
The action needs to be seamless; the user ought to be able to act with ease —without barriers. Action according to Nir, relies not solely on ease of use however on principles of human behavior. It’s based on the premise that the user seeks one among 3 things: 1) pleasure so as to avoid pain, 2) hope to avoid fear, or 3) social acceptance to avoid rejection. Jack Dorsey founder of Twitter builds on this premise together with his platform which is meant to resolve a tangle (communication, knowledge building), while addressing needs and emotions of its users (social acceptance via ‘likes’, retweets, etc.) (pg 39).
Variable Reward
What distinguishes the Hook model from the traditional electric circuit (embodied by the acquainted model B.F. Skinner’s model where rewards square measure used to support behavior modification through positive reinforcement) is that the variability of the reward that creates a want for feedback, motivating the user to seek it out. Traditional feedback loops square measure predictable; they don’t produce want according to Nir. Yet once there’s uncertainty to the reward or variability to the kind of reward—the user’s interest is piqued consider the variability of the reward structure with slot machines; they’re unpredictable. In an education context, Nir describes how Codeacademy uses variable rewards with symbols that benchmark students progress on with variable feedback that uses rewards to satisfy the student’s want for acceptance and validation (pg. 89).
Investment
The investment occurs once the user puts one thing into the product or service like time, data, effort, social capital or money (pg. 7). The more users invest in the product or service, the more they worth it—supporting the plan that labor ends up in love. This investment concept is applicable to education—online courses for example wherever students contribute to course content (investment of time), complete course work (more time) and engage with peers (even a lot of time).
Case Study: The Hook Model in Action
After reading the case study of the Bible app, YouVersion in “Hooked” I could see the application of the Hook model, its relevance to learning contexts. The app provides a selection of bible study programs users will select from primarily based upon their wants. The app sends reminders and encouraging messages when readings or school assignment is due. When a message is avoided or uncomprehensible, a red icon appears over the app, another cue. If more than 2 readings square measure uncomprehensible, users receive a supportive message suggesting they take into account a completely different (less challenging) arrange. There’s also a virtual community, where encouragement from its members is another supply of ‘triggers’. Rewards come in many forms. When a reading assignment is finished as an example, the user gets a message “Day Complete” with a check mark on the app’s calendar. YouVersion is a success story. It’s the #1 downloaded Bible app with over 200,000,000 downloads.
