Activated Motivation: An Opportunity for HCI Research?

Self-Determination Theory [7, 13, 14] is a decades-old, widely-validated macro-theory that describes human motivation. Generally, it defines motivation on a spectrum ranging from amotivation, or a lack of motivation, to extrinsic motivation driven by external factors like rewards, to intrinsic motivation associated with one’s internal enjoyment or interest. Moreover, the theory establishes the benefits of more internal forms of motivation: individuals acting with internal forms of motivation will tend to feel more open and curious, be more persistent, and are more likely to succeed at difficult tasks [8, 13, 14]. Indeed, these concepts have been widely validated, and have been shown to provide a practical framework for technology design [9]. However, researchers have also argued that current engagement with the theory is shallow [11, 12], particularly some of the concepts described in Self-Determination Theory’s ‘micro-theories’ [9]

A Roadmap for Activated Motivation in HCI

Everyday, millions of people use technologies like their fitbit, smartwatch, or smartphone for self\--improve\-ment. These devices and their associated apps have become both inexpensive and pervasive; they monitor our shopping habits, physical activity, and ecological footprint and visualize that data to help us reflect on our limitations, to set and make progress towards goals, and recognize achievements. The potential impacts of these technologies are immense; to improve our finances, to educate ourselves and develop new skills, and to improve our health and the health of our planet. However, research has cast doubt on their effectiveness \cite{Cho2021, Rapp2019, Zimmerman2021, JOHNSON2016}. That is, people tend to lose motivation for self-improvement over time, and ultimately fail to meet their personal goals. To address these shortcomings, I will explore how we can use established theories of human motivation to develop novel technologies that motivate change, to provoke self-reflection and persistence, and to promote our health and well-being

Merlynne: Motivating Peer-to-Peer Cognitive Behavioral Therapy with a Serious Game

Human-Computer Interaction researchers have explored how online communities can be leveraged for peer support, but general disinterest and a lack of engagement have emerged as substantial barriers to their use in practice. To address this gap, we designed Merlynne, a serious game that seeks to motivate individuals to support peers through Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). Our game explored use of the Proteus Effect — a phenomenon where players adopt characteristics of their in-game avatar — to motivate peer support through stereotyped 'helpful' and 'unhelpful' avatars. We then conducted a mixed-methods, exploratory study to investigate its design. We found that our game successfully motivated players to offer peer support, despite the substantial emotional labour required by CBT. However, we were not able to replicate the Proteus Effect, and did not find differences in that support based on a player's avatar. In reflecting on our findings, we discuss design challenges and considerations for the use of serious games to motivate participation in mental health support, including: fatigue, a player's need for self-expression and to relate to those they are supporting, and ludonarrative dissonance

Leveraging the Proteus Effect to Motivate Emotional Support in a Serious Game for Mental Health

Researchers have explored how online communities can be leveraged for peer support, but general disinterest and a lack of engagement have emerged as substantial barriers to their use in practice. To address this gap, we designed Merlynne using the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) and games user research, a serious game that motivates individuals to become peer supporters using the Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) techniques, through play. We conducted a mixed-methods, exploratory study to evaluate Merlynne’s design and specifically studied the Proteus Effect, hypothesizing that players using a stereotypically helpful avatar would have higher usage rates and a higher change in helping attitudes scores than players using a stereotypically unhelpful avatar. Merlynne had high engagement evidenced by usage rates and meaningful participant responses, and serious game techniques were used as effective cues for motivation. Emerging themes from thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews were supported with usage data and survey responses. We also found that avatar appearance influenced player-avatar connectedness and engagement through the frequency of empathy expressed in solutions. In reflecting on our findings, we discuss design challenges such as Ludonarrative dissonance, designing for emotional fatigue, and players’ overconfidence, and present design considerations such as using avatars to promote empathy for those seeking to motivate participation in mental health support and the use of serious game techniques to encourage participation in health interventions