Designing for Motivation, Engagement and Wellbeing in Digital Experience

By Dorian Peters, Rafael A. Calvo, Richard M. Ryan. Frontiers in Psychology, 2018

643 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Research in psychology has shown that both motivation and wellbeing are contingent on the satisfaction of certain psychological needs. Yet, despite a long-standing pursuit in human-computer interaction (HCI) for design strategies that foster sustained engagement, behavior change and wellbeing, the basic psychological needs shown to mediate these outcomes are rarely taken into account. This is possibly due to the lack of a clear model to explain these needs in the context of HCI. Herein we introduce such a model: Motivation, Engagement and Thriving in User Experience (METUX). The model provides a framework grounded in psychological research that can allow HCI researchers and practitioners to form actionable insights with respect to how technology designs support or undermine basic psychological needs, thereby increasing motivation and engagement, and ultimately, improving user wellbeing. We propose that in order to address wellbeing, psychological needs must be considered within five different spheres of analysis including: at the point of technology adoption, during interaction with the interface, as a result of engagement with technology-specific tasks, as part of the technology-supported behavior, and as part of an individual's life overall. These five spheres of experience sit within a sixth, society, which encompasses both direct and collateral effects of technology use as well as non-user experiences. We build this model based on existing evidence for basic psychological need satisfaction, including evidence within the context of the workplace, computer games, and health. We extend and hone these ideas to provide practical advice for designers along with real world examples of how to apply the model to design practice.

Subfields: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology, Sociology and Political Science, Human-Computer Interaction

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/14f096fbcbf70b6fe30525146d2f3b8f9b68431b

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Citations in the corpus

Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation from a self-determination theory perspective: Definitions, theory, practices, and future directions (2020, neutral): “Also, students’ and teachers’ motivation to use technology as a tool for learning will become an even more active area of research (Peters, Calvo, & Ryan, 2018; Sørebø, Halvari, Gulli, & Kristiansen, 2009).”
Teacher support and student motivation to learn with Artificial Intelligence (AI) based chatbot (2023, positive): “With more advanced AI-based learning tools constantly being developed, understanding their role in relation to student motivation through the use of SDT research will continue to grow (Chiu, 2022; Peters et al., 2018).”
Brick by Brick: The Origins, Development, and Future of Self-Determination Theory (2019, background): “When it comes to other technologies, SDT speaks to engagement not only at the level of motivational design, but also in terms of the impact of technologies on wellness through basic need satisfactions (Peters et al., 2018).”
Does gamification affect brand engagement and equity? A study in online brand communities (2020, positive): “…brand engagement literature, it can be observed that immersion -related features are commonly connected with the experience of expressive freedom (Peters, Calvo, & Ryan, 2018; Wolf et al., 2019), flow and optimal experience (Chang, 2013), i.e. more emotional and affective aspects (e.g.…”
Six Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence Grand Challenges (2023, neutral): “As an approach that enhances both well-being and intrinsic motivation, SDT could be an especially useful resource in designing AI tools that support eudaimonia while also creating engagement towards business goals or other imperatives (Peters et al., 2018).”