Gamification 101: The Psychology of Motivation

Hello Hunter,

Nice to see you again, and thanks for the comment.

I'm glad that this post made you re-examine psychology. One thing that I must say is that it is never too late to learn, and there are many ways to learn about these topics. There are lot of great books and resources out there. Moreover, many of the psychological principles have been established, tested, and accepted long ago, so we don't have to worry about the accuracy or rigor of these theory. We just have to find a trusted source.

However, gamification is a practice that is rather new compare to the psychologicla principle behind them. As you said, there are definitely a lot to consider when you want to gamify existing products/services. It is not as easy as "just give them some points and badges." If someone tells you that, you should think twice. We are definitely trying to incorporate these principles deep into the core of our platform, but there are still much work to be done.

Knowing what motivates the society in general or your market really depends on how general the psychological principle is. If it is a very general principle like those of Maslow, Skinner, and Csikszentmihalyi, then it doesn't matter. Their principle are so universal that they should apply everywhere to anyone -- in fact, some of them are even applicable to other animals. But if there may be some principles that are not as general or universal, and they only work for some smaller sub-populations, then you would have to worry whether that sub-population overlaps with your market of interest.

OK, I hope this addresses your question. Thanks again for coming back, see you next time.